The Legislature has returned from Summer Recess. They will have until August 27 to hear bills in the Appropriations Committees and until September 10 to pass any bills out of the Legislature.
Today the Senate Appropriations Committees met to determine which bills to move to the Senate Floor and which bills to place on the Suspense File. On Thursday the Assembly Appropriations Committee will meet to go through the same process. All bills that have costs of more than $150,000 annually are placed on the Suspense File. This is a way for the Senate and Assembly leadership and Appropriations Chairs to evaluate all bills together, understand the collective impact they would have on the State Budget, and weigh policy priorities. They then decide in a subsequent Suspense File hearing which bills to allow to move forward, which to turn into two-year bills, and which to hold in committee (bill effectively dies).
In the weeks ahead C.A.R. will have more updates as the Legislature wraps up the first year of the 2021-22 Legislative Session.