August 15, 2024

The Legislature returned from summer recess last week and began the full sprint towards the end of the 2023-2024 Legislative Session. There are several important legislative deadlines before the Legislative Session ends at midnight on Saturday, August 31, including the infamous “Suspense File” process of the Senate and Assembly Appropriations Committees.  

Role of the Appropriations Committees

In the first two weeks of August, the process for considering legislation with fiscal impacts that occurred in May will repeat. As a reminder, deadlines for bills differ depending on whether the bill is considered to have a financial impact on the state, as determined by the Office of Legislative Counsel. Nonfiscal bills (bills considered to have no financial impact on the state) are not required to be heard in an Assembly or Senate Appropriations Committees. Fiscal bills must be heard in the appropriations committees as well as the appropriate policy committees. Once approved by policy committees, nonfiscal bills move to the Floor of that house for a vote of the full house. Fiscal bills, however, must then be referred to the appropriations committee of that house by a specified deadline.

What is the “Suspense File”?

Due to cost concerns, especially during years in which the state is facing a budget deficit, many bills are held in the appropriations committees by being set aside in the “Suspense File.” Legislative leadership, committee chairs, and staff of the appropriations committees will consider the collective impact of Suspense File bills on the state’s finances. Then, they decide which of those bills will move forward for a vote in committee, and which will die quietly on the Suspense File.

CSAC Elevates Consideration of Fiscal Impacts to Counties

This year, both Appropriations Committee Suspense File hearings will be held on Thursday, August 15. As of the time of this publication, the results of the hearings were not yet determined. Ahead of the hearings, CSAC submitted letters to both appropriations committees to encourage consideration of the county perspective on pending, often expensive, legislation. (Read CSAC’s Senate and Assembly Appropriations Committee letters).

In particular, CSAC gave voice to county fiscal and workload concerns, since fiscal committee staff focus analyses on the state’s fiscal impact. CSAC staff work diligently with legislative staff, the Administration, and local government partners to help shape the bills that impact counties as they move through the legislative process.

Should you have any questions regarding pending legislation, please do not hesitate to contact CSAC legislative staff.