Frequently Asked Questions about Actions by Appropriations Committees

Frequently Asked Questions about Actions by Appropriations Committees By Chris Micheli

            What can the Assembly and Senate Appropriations Committee do with bills re-referred to them? The following actions are the most common: Do Pass; Do Pass as Amended; Placed on the Suspense File; Consent; or “28.8 to the Floor” (only in the Senate).

            Why is a bill sent to the Suspense File? If a measure reaches the fiscal threshold, then they are placed on the Suspense File, which is $50K in the Senate and $150K in the Assembly.

What is 28.8? Senate Rule 28.8 allows the Senate fiscal committee chair to send measures directly to the Senate Floor if there are no significant costs or revenue loss attributable to the measure.

What types of amendments are made by the respective Appropriations Committees? They are author’s amendments or committee amendments.

What happens when a bill is held on the Suspense File? During the first year of the session, when the committees do not pass a bill off the Suspense File, they either hold the bill, which means the measure is dead for the Session, (of course, the same or a similar bill can be introduced in the second year of the session), or the measure is deemed a 2-year bill (which are actually called “carryover bills” in the state Constitution), and those bills will be voted upon in January at the start of the second year of session.

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