LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE STRUCTURE

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• LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE STRUCTURE
• AND PROCESS
• Presentation for
• 2006 Airtap Fall Forum
• Amy Vennewitz
• Metropolitan Council

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Legislative Work Can be Exciting!!
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Current Political Structure

• Governor
• Governor Tim Pawlenty, Republican
• Senate
• 67 Total Members, 4-year terms
• DFL Majority, 38 members
• Republican Minority, 29 members
• Majority Leader Senator Dean Johnson
• House
• 134 Total Members, 2-year terms
• Republican Majority, 68 members
• DFL Minority, 66 members
• Speaker of the House Representative Steve Sviggum

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After November 7????

• November 7 Election day
• Governor and all members of Senate and House
  standing for election
• 30 of 201 Legislators (15) Retiring
• Potential incumbent losses
• Landscape could remain same or have large changes

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Activity Starts Immediately

• Governor
• makes key agency appointments
• reviews/selects budget initiatives
• House and Senate
• elect caucus leadership
• establish new legislative committee structure
• appoint committee chairs members
• membership proportionally balanced

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Legislative Committees

• Policy Committees
• Policy committees for major topic areas, i.e.
  education, environment, transportation
• Hear all bills in topic area
• Pass bills to other policy committees, budget
  committees (divisions) or to floor
• Budget Committees or Divisions
• Also for major topic areas
• Hear only bills with fiscal impact
• Pass bills to Finance and Tax committees

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Legislative Committees Cont.

• Finance and Tax Committees
• Chaired by senior legislators
• In Senate, Finance hears spending bills, Taxes
  hears revenue raising bills
• In House, Ways and Means committee hears both
  finance and tax bills
• Rules Committees
• Chaired by majority leaders in Senate House
• Hear bills that have not met rules

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2005-06 Senate Commitees
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20005-06 House Committees
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Committee Structure

• Chair Member of majority party, some seniority,
  interest/expertise in subject
• Committee staff
• committee secretary administrator, work
  directly for chair
• non-partisan professional staff, policy analysts,
  counsel, fiscal analysts, work for all
  legislators
• majority minority partisan staff, hired by
  caucuses, work for legislators in their
  respective caucus

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Typical Committees with Jurisdiction over Airport
Issues

• Transportation Policy
• Subcommittee on aviation in both Senate House
• Airport operations, noise issues
• Transportation Finance
• MnDOT Office of Aeronautics, State Airport Fund
• State and Local Government Operations (Senate)
  and Local Government (House)
• Land use, noise, MAC governance issues
• Legislative Commission on Metropolitan Governance
  (joint Senate/House)
• Metropolitan Council governance and budget

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Basic Bill Flow

• Idea generation
• Individuals constituents, legislators,
  professional group/associations, Governor and
  agencies
• Legislator requests a bill draft
• Senate House professional staff or Revisor of
  Statutes drafts bill
• Finds author in other house co-authors
• Companion (identical) bills introduced in both
  houses
• First reading on floor
• Bill is referred to Committee
• In Senate President refers, in House Speaker
  refers

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Committee Actions on Bills

• Committee Options
• Hear, amend, pass the bill
• Hear the bill, vote it down
• Hear the bill, put in into another bill
• Dont hear the bill
• Committee reports the bill to the floor or
  another committee
• Budget or fiscal bills must go to a finance or
  tax committee

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Floor Actions on Bills

• Bill is reported to floor, second reading
• Individual bill or omnibus bill
• Bill is debated, amended on floor
• Third reading (no amendments)
• Bill passes (fails) and is transmitted to other
  house
• Other house passes identical bill or amends bill
  (substitutes language)
• Bill sent to Governor (if identical)
• Conference Committee (if amended)

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Conference Committee Actions

• Equal of Senators and Representatives
  (typically 3-5)
• Staff prepares side-by-side comparisons
• Committee recommends final bill content
• Majority of members from each house must agree on
  final content
• Each house must adopt committee report
• Pass final bill without amendment

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Governors Actions

• Bill presented to Governor
• 3 days to (if session has ended,10 days)
• Sign
• Allow to become law without signature
• Veto
• Veto override requires 2/3 vote
• 90 votes in House
• 45 votes in Senate

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Biennial Legislative Timeline

• Odd-year session
• Pass 2-year biennial budget
• Starts very early January
• Required to end first Mon. after 3rd Sat. in May
• Even-year session
• Pass bonding bill authorizing capital projects
• Starts late February March
• Total biennial legislative days limited to 120
• State revenue forecasts
• February and November

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Advocacy Where to have Impact

• Direct contact with Legislators
• Get sponsorship of requested legislation
• Explain issues one-on-one
• Contact staff
• Input on bill drafting, other issues
• Assistance on process
• Testify at Committee Hearings
• Provide expertise, information
• Get membership, others to contact