The Rules: Nightly Session Agenda Calendars

The 2010 regular session begins Tuesday, March 2. The rules governing meeting notices and calendar publication deadlines will change. Below is a summary of what you can expect this session.
Meeting Notices ... LobbyTools receives House and Senate committee meeting notices individually throughout the day. LobbyTools immediately enters all notices into the LobbyTools calendar as they are received. Most meeting notices are submitted by 4:30 pm. House councils and committees release their notices at least TWO DAYS in advance of their meetings. For example, House events scheduled for Tuesday release their agendas Friday of the week before the meetings. Senate committees will release their notices at least THREE DAYS in advance of their meetings. In the same example, Senate events scheduled for Tuesday release their agendas Thursday of the week before the meetings.

It is important to note that the meeting agendas on the LobbyTools calendar should be considered unofficial until each meeting is verified by the official House and Senate agenda calendar, published nightly.

Nightly Calendar ... The House and Senate release an agenda calendar for every business day during special or regular sessions. The release times of these documents vary throughout session, but can be published at any time after all councils and committees have published their meeting notices for the day. You can find copies of the official House and Senate nightly agenda calendars on the Legislative Calendars section of LobbyTools, located on the front page of the Tracking Tab between Today's Press Releases and Recently Filed Bills.


Please note after interim committee weeks end, LobbyTools will no longer alert you via email when the nightly agenda calendars are published.

Special Order ... Members of the LobbyTools staff will attend every meeting by the House Rules & Calendar Council and the Senate Policy & Steering Committees if either chamber is expected to set its special order for an upcoming Session. Information from the unofficial special order letters will be entered into the LobbyTools calendar shortly after each meeting. Copies of the special order letters can also be found in the Related Documents section of each Session event in the LobbyTools calendar.

Again, it is important to note that the special order should be considered unofficial until the agenda is confirmed by the official House and Senate agenda calendar, published nightly. Even then, the order of bills read on the chamber floor is subject to change.



Rule References:

Senate Rule 2.6 - Notice of committee meetings:
(1) Notice of meetings of standing committees, standing subcommittees, and select committees shall be published in the daily calendar. No committee shall consider any bill during the first fifty (50) days of any regular session until proper notice is published in the calendar for the two (2) legislative days preceding and the day of such committee meeting, except committees may meet on the first and second days of a regular session provided a meeting notice was published in a Senate calendar and posted in the public corridor leading to the Senate Chamber for at least two (2) days preceding and the day of such meeting.

Senate Rule 2.8 - Notice of meeting; publication:
For publication in the daily calendar, notice of standing committee, standing subcommittee, or select committee meetings shall be delivered to the Secretary's office in writing by 4:30 p.m. on the day preceding its intended publication. If such day is a Friday, delivery shall be by 2:30 p.m. Meeting notices shall appear in the daily calendar.

House Rule 7.12 - Scheduling Council and Committee Meetings:
(a) Notice of Council and Committee Meetings. Any council or committee meeting to be held for the purpose of considering legislation must be noticed. The council or committee administrative assistant shall provide electronic or paper copies of the notice to the Clerk for publication and to the House Majority Office, the House Minority Office, the members of the council or committee, and the first-named sponsor of each bill noticed.

(e) Notice Deadlines during Sessions. During the first 45 days of a regular session, notice shall be provided no later than 4:30 p.m. of the 2nd day (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and official state holidays) before the council or committee meeting for the purpose of considering legislation. After the 45th day of a regular session and during any extended session, the notice shall be provided no later than 4:30 p.m. on the day (including Saturdays, Sundays, and official state holidays) before the council or committee meeting. During any special session, the notice shall be provided no later than 2 hours before the council or committee meeting.

(j) Rules & Calendar Council Exempt from Notice Deadline. The Rules & Calendar Council shall be exempt from the notice deadlines of this rule except when meeting to consider the substance of legislation.