The Schedule of Floor Activities

   Electronic screens at the front of the House and the Senate (the “Board”) display the order of events that will occur in each chamber. Fortunately for citizens, those schedules can be accessed on the Internet (House and Senate) with the text of each bill linked to the Board.

Understanding what is happening on the Board will help you know what to expect and when to expect it. Sometimes if feels as if you're having to keep track of many moving pieces. Let’s go over the contents of the Board.

“Reading Calendars” list the order in which bills will be heard, moving from top to bottom on the list. These bills have been heard in Standing Committee meetings and are ready for a discussion by the full body.

“Time Certain” bills are bills on a Reading Calendar that have been scheduled to be debated at a specific time, often to allow interested people the opportunity to be present when the floor debate occurs.

The “Consent Calendar” contains uncontroversial bills that have been unanimously passed by a Standing Committee and, then, unanimously placed on the Consent Calendar by the Committee. Consent Calendar bills are not debated, instead the Sponsor explains the bill before the floor vote.

The “Concurrence Calendar” contain bills that have been amended by the other body. The bill sponsor will describe the amendments and, after more debate, ask the body to Concur (agree) or Refuse to Concur (disagree) with the amendments offered by the other body.

When you learn to read the Board takes you from being a spectator to a participant in the process.