Senate resolution relating to adoption of a temporary Rule 44A
SR0007 is a Senate resolution that would adopt a temporary Senate Rule 44A governing how bills are handled if they miss the chamber’s crossover deadlines in 2025. Under the proposed rule, most bills that fail to meet the March 14, 2025 or March 21, 2025 crossover dates would be sent to the Senate Committee on Rules rather than proceeding normally through the legislative process. The resolution creates a temporary procedural mechanism for managing late-moving legislation during the 2025 session.
The rule carves out several major categories of legislation from this referral requirement: the transportation capital bill, the capital construction bill, the general appropriations bill, the fee bill, and tax/revenue bills. It also authorizes the Committee on Rules to release bills back to the appropriate committee of jurisdiction or to the Notice Calendar, and it provides that any bills still in Rules when the 2026 adjourned session convenes must be reassigned or calendared. The temporary rule would expire upon the convening of the 2026 adjourned session.
If adopted, SR0007 would affect the Senate’s internal procedural rules rather than substantive state law. It would change how late-passing bills are routed after crossover deadlines, concentrating control over missed-deadline legislation in the Committee on Rules and creating a mechanism for later reassignment. The practical effect would be to manage the flow of legislation between committees and preserve Senate control over bills that do not advance on schedule, while exempting key budgetary and fiscal measures from the new referral process.
Because there are no recorded committee transcripts or votes provided, there is no direct evidence of debate or opposition in the supplied materials. The resolution appears procedural and administrative in nature, suggesting its purpose is to provide a clear process for handling bills that miss crossover deadlines rather than to advance a policy position. The absence of recorded controversy or voting history limits any assessment of broader sentiment.
The main potential point of contention is the concentration of authority in the Committee on Rules, which could be viewed as giving leadership greater control over which late bills continue moving. Another possible issue is the treatment of crossover deadlines themselves, since the resolution effectively creates a backstop for bills that miss those dates. The explicit exemptions for major fiscal measures may also draw attention, because they preserve special treatment for appropriations, capital, fee, and tax/revenue bills while subjecting most other measures to the new referral process.