Days 1 & 2 Were Quiet - And That's Normal
The 2nd regular session of the 103rd General Assembly has gotten underway.
Getting a session started in the legislature is a lot like the first few days of school. Slow. It often looks unproductive to the public. But laying the foundation and getting the necessary rules and paperwork in place is necessary and required.
Each session begins new. This is the 103rd General Assembly and each assembly consists of two regular sessions over a two year period.
At the beginning of each session there are actions that have to be taken in order for the senate to conduct business. Among those actions are:
- Reading the senator's names & district numbers
- Offering resolutions that adopt rules and open the senate for business
- Accepting messages from the Governor for appointments
- Listening to an opening address made by the President Pro Tem
- Accepting concurrent resolutions made by senators
- First reading of all pre-filed bills on Day 1, of which there were over 600
- Second reading & referring bills to committee on Day 2, of which there were around 200
- Setting committee schedules
There was no debate on the senate floor, just necessary procedural motions which is normal. And that's exactly what these couple of days have been - a normal start to a legislative session.
If you'd like to read what happened, check out the daily journals. They are posted each day and are the minutes recorded for each session. The journals are where you'll find the official voting records as well.
If you'd like to learn more about the rules of the senate and procedures that we follow, you can read them on the Missouri Senate website.
What's Next
Next week, beginning January 12, committee hearings will begin and the pace and activity will pick up. But, we will be interrupted by the Governor's State of the State Address.
If you'd like to listen to committee hearings, the audio is streamed live. You can find all the committee related information on the senate website.
There still won't be any bills out on the floor for debate, so if you are listening in or watching from the gallery and there seems to be very little happening rest assured senators are hard at work prepping for committees, presentations, meeting with people, having conversations, reading bills and doing all the work required to be prepared for the important floor action when the time comes.
While things are moving more slowly on the floor, the necessary meetings, decisions about policy details and required administrative work is the focus.
By week three, things should be running at a little quicker pace although it will be a short week due to the holiday.
That's what we've been focused on the first couple of days of session and we will continue until bills are voted out of committee and are ready for debate on the floor.
