Whether you're able to join us for City Action Days or not, legislators need to hear from cities about the many bill proposals that impact you. AWC’s weekly Hot Sheet is an easy reference guide for tracking some bills that are currently of greatest interest to cities. Be sure to schedule meetings
with your legislators and check their websites to find out when
they are hosting town halls – a great venue for sharing city needs with both lawmakers and community members.
Legislative cutoff deadlines
While we meet this week at City Action Days, legislators will be holding committee votes on bills in advance of this session’s first cutoff deadline. Each session, the Legislature establishes deadlines that govern the bills moving through the legislative
process. A bill that fails to advance by one of the cutoff deadlines is typically considered “dead” at that point. However, bills that are related to or necessary to implement the budget (NTIB) are generally exempt from the cutoff deadlines.
In addition, the Legislature can always make exceptions to the deadlines if they so choose.
The first deadline is Monday, February 15 (the Legislature meets on holidays during session) when bills need to be voted out of their policy committees. Following February 15, the deadlines are:
- February 22 – Deadline for bills to pass out of fiscal committees. (Bills with fiscal impacts typically must be heard in both a policy committee and a fiscal committee.)
- March 9 – Deadline for bills to pass their house of origin.
- March 26 – Deadline for bills to pass out of the policy committees in the opposite house.
- April 2 – Deadline for bills to pass out of the fiscal committees in the opposite house.
- April 11 – Deadline for bills (not related to the budget) to pass the opposite house.
- April 25 – Session ends.
Your city voice
As the Legislature approaches the deadlines, it is more important than ever to make your voice heard in the legislative process. It’s not too late to reach out to your legislator and share your city’s position on issues important to your community.
If you have already met with your legislators this session, keep up the good work. Remember, it’s not always necessary to set up a meeting. Send a quick email or leave a message to share your input.
Bills change quickly, so it is important to tell your legislators where you stand on bills as they are amended. We typically think of supporting or opposing bills, but often it’s the case that more nuance is involved. A single bill may contain provisions
that cities support and other provisions we find problematic. Additionally, as bills are amended throughout the legislative process, they sometimes change enough to cause us to shift our position. If you track our weekly Hot Sheet, you may notice
bills moving between categories for that very reason.
For information to help make your case about the value of cities, check out our new infographic: How are cities doing?
For tips on being a strong city advocate, check out our advocacy guide.
If you have any questions about the legislative process or a particular bill, don’t hesitate to reach out to the Government Relations team. We are always ready and willing to help.