INTRODUCTION

Legislative rules require bills that create new fiscal impacts be assigned to the Committee on Appropriations after successful passage from a policy committee. Any bill that is assumed to have over a certain cost is automatically placed on a list, so that each of these bills can be assessed in context of one another as well as the current budget predictions for the next fiscal year.

This process is known as “placing a bill on the suspense file,” which is later dispensed with at a particular hearing, which occurred on August 15th. Bills may either move “off of suspense” and be passed to the floor, move off of suspense with amendments for a floor vote, or be “held on suspense” where the bill remains–likely for the remainder of the legislative session.

Download the results for CFT-sponsored legislation from the August suspense hearing