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Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Ind. Gov't. - The scoop on legislative conference committees
Michele McNeil of the Indianapolis Star has a story today headlined: "In the final days, lawmakers hash out bills: General Assembly starts its conference committees: mostly private, a little scary." Some quotes:
These final 10 days of the General Assembly have been called fast-paced, confusing -- even scary. Enter the legislative world of conference committees, where groups of four lawmakers meet to decide the fates of hundreds of ideas.The drama kicked into high gear Monday with six meetings on proposals ranging from daylight-saving time to cloning -- meetings that showed just how unpredictable making laws can be.
The meetings lasted from 10 minutes to two hours. In one, a citizen fainted while he was testifying on daylight-saving time. Another featured the temporary demise of a proposal to create an inspector general, and a promise of revival. One meeting was canceled five minutes after it was supposed to start.
These meetings are mostly for show -- as much of the real negotiating will take place in private.
A conference committee is made up of four legislators, called conferees -- a Democrat and Republican from the House and the same from the Senate, all assigned by legislative leaders. There are also advisers, who serve as understudies in the legislative drama. Sometimes, if a legislative leader doesn't agree with a conferee, he'll ask an adviser to take over.
The public isn't given much advance notice of meetings, which must be announced an hour beforehand in the Senate, two hours in the House. The public has to know where to look, too. The meetings are posted on a blackboard on the second floor of the Statehouse.
The goal for conference committees is to obtain four signatures on a compromise report -- one from each of the conferees. However, the job doesn't stop there. The final version of the bill must pass each chamber again. All the while, the clock is ticking toward April 29, the deadline set in law by which the legislature must adjourn.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on April 19, 2005 09:31 AM
Posted to Indiana Government