Appropriations Committees Suspense Hearings

The fiscal committee deadline is coming up this Friday, August 29. Both houses of the Legislature will hear their respective suspense files in the Appropriations Committees.

This process determines which bills ultimately make it to the Senate or Assembly floor for consideration before possibly heading to the Governor. Many bills will be quietly heldwithout comment or explanation—while others will be allowed through. It’s a bit of a black-box process, with lobbyists working behind the scenes trying to persuade legislators to block bills their clients oppose or advance those their clients’ support.

The Governor’s Office also weighs in, as there are bills he simply doesn’t want reaching his desk; sometimes for policy reasons, often for political ones. Legislators, for their part, like this process because it allows them to quietly kill their colleagues’ bills without leaving direct fingerprints. After all, they still have to sit across from each other at their weekly caucus lunch!