(NOTE: All examples I'm using are from 2007-2008, because this session has just begun)
Bill Introductions
Every day, new bills are introduced in both the House and the Senate. There are always a ton of them; by the end of the session, they number in the thousands. Many are quite similar; others present varying approaches to the same topic. Each bill is given its first reading and referred to an appropriate committee for further action. A large majority of them die there, with no further action ever taken on them.
On the introductions page, you'll see a brief excerpt of each bill, including its authors, a short description, and the committee it was referred to. Each bill also includes a link for more detailed information, including the full text of the bill and its current status.
Finding a specific bill
Looking for something in particular? Don't want to wade through thousands of introductions? The legislature has a search engine that can help you find a certain bill, or bills on a certain topic, by a certain author, or by a certain committee. You can even narrow your search to just include bills that have actually made some progress through the legislature.
Following a bill
Once a bill is introduced, you can follow its journey through the legislature -- assuming, of course, that it makes any progress. Once you find the bill you'd like to check on, just click to view its authors and status.
Every bill is updated as its status changes.
Searching bills by status
Instead of viewing the status of every individual bill, you can also view all of the bills that have reached a certain point in their progress through the legislature.
Let's say you don't want to follow all of the bills in committees -- you're only interested in bills that have already passed out of a Senate committee, to be voted on by the full Senate. Once a bill passes through all of its committees, it is given a second reading. You can thus search for all bills that have been given a second reading by the Senate.
As always, you can do this type of search in both the House or the Senate.
Tracking changes - engrossments
During the legislative process, bills tend to change quote a bit -- after all, the point of the legislature is to debate policy. For that reason, the legislature keeps track of multiple versions of each bill, called engrossments.
Typically, viewing a bill's text will first bring you to a list of its engrossments. If it doesn't, you can click "list versions" to see the engrossments.
Roll-call votes
Any action with a roll-call vote will have a link to the House or Senate journal (more on those in a moment). Click on the link to see how each legislator voted.
Keeping track of multiple bills with MyBills
The legislature's web site will even help you keep track of the bills you want to follow. Register for MyBills and add the bills you want to follow. When you sign into MyBills, you can check on the status of the bills you're following. You can even get email or RSS updates whenever the bills you're following have status changes.
Get more detail with the House and Senate Journals
In the screenshot showing the roll-call votes, you may have noticed a column called "Page." That refers to the page number in the House Journal, a compendium of nearly every action taken in the House during the session (as always, there is a Senate Journal as well).For more detail about a particular action you see noted in a bill's status, just check out the Journal. You can also browse through the Journal to find out what happened on a given day, but be warned -- it's long. The 2008 House Journal topped 13,000 pages.
Even more detail - minutes and recordings
If you want an even more detailed look into the machinations behind a particular bill, try looking through the committee minutes (House, Senate). Finally, you can also review audio and video recordings for the ultimate accuracy (House, Senate)
Schedule
Looking at what has already happened is one thing; looking ahead is another. The legislature maintains a calendar and schedule of events, but they change frequently and without warning. Here is the House schedule and Senate schedule. Take them with a grain of salt.
It's a bit easier to know when a bill you've been following is going to be voted on by the full House or Senate. Before a bill can be given its third reading and voted up or down, it is placed on the Calendar for the Day (House, Senate). Any bill placed on the Calendar may be eligible for a final vote, although that doesn't guarantee it will happen.
At the end, things get messy - omnibus bills
As time runs out towards the end of the session and the bills pile up, something happens that makes it a lot harder to track bills: Individual bills stop being passed, and instead they are rolled up into a huge omnibus bill. The omnibus bills can be hundreds and hundreds of pages, and it's often beyond a citizen observer without staff help to keep track of them.
Vetoes
We have a Republican governor and a DFL legislature, so I thought it would be wise to add this section. The Governor's office maintains a list of all legislation sent to the Governor's desk. Typically, vetoed bills are accompanied by a veto message which explains why.
To be continued...
I will try to update this resource throughout the session. What else should I add?
Originally posted to the Twin Cities Daily Liberal |
