Senate agenda

The senate agenda includes the following information:

1. notice of intent, giving the number, author or sponsor, and short caption for each measure that may be considered during the day’s session;
2. list of senate bills returned from the house with amendments;
3. status of bills in conference committees, giving a short caption and brief history of the action on the bills;
4. local and uncontested bills calendar;
5. gubernatorial appointments to boards and commissions that have been reported favorably from the Senate Committee on Nominations and are awaiting confirmation by the senate;
6. committee hearings scheduled, including short captions for all measures scheduled to be considered by the committees;
7. regular order of business, listing all bills and resolutions that have been reported favorably from committees in the order in which they were reported to the senate;
8. miscellaneous announcements;
9. senate floor action, giving the numbers and short captions for and action taken on all measures brought up for consideration during the previous legislative day;
10. senate committee action, giving the same information for all measures considered by committees on the previous day; and
11. morning call, which includes senate and house bills and resolutions on first reading and referral to committee, the introduction and consideration of memorial and congratulatory resolutions, messages and executive communications, and other motions.

Copies of the senate agenda (usually referred to as “green books” because they are printed on green paper) are available the morning of each legislative day.

Intent calendar

Senate rules require that bills and resolutions be listed on the regular order of business and be considered on second reading in the order in which committee reports on the measures are submitted to the senate. During a regular session, the senate adopts a further rule specifying that before a bill or joint resolution may be brought up for floor debate out of its regular order, notice of intent must be filed with the secretary of the senate by 3 p.m. on the last preceding calendar day the senate was in session. A senator may give notice on no more than three bills or resolutions before April 15 and on no more than five bills or resolutions on or after April 15. Senate rules direct the secretary of the senate to prepare a list of all legislation for which notice has been given. The list, called the Intent Calendar, must be made available to each senator and to the press not later than 6:30 p.m. on the day the notice is filed. No bill or resolution may be considered on its first day on the Intent Calendar, and a vote of two-thirds of the senators present is required before any of the measures listed on the Intent Calendar may be debated. The senate rules do not require measures to be brought up for consideration in the order listed on the Intent Calendar, and the senate routinely considers only a portion of those measures listed on the Intent Calendar for a given day. A senator must give notice from day to day for a measure that was not brought up for consideration to remain on the Intent Calendar. Any provision of the senate rule governing the Intent Calendar may be suspended by a vote of four-fifths of the members present.