Civics 101 in 120 Seconds (ish) – The Floor: Where BIG CHANGES Can Happen (2min)
What can happen to your bill on the Floor after it’s made it this far?
Civics 101 in 120 Seconds (ish) is your straightforward guide through the often confounding legislative process.
Script:
What can happen to your bill on the Floor after it’s made it this far?
Not uncommon for big changes on the Floor, Why?
Only committee members have had a chance to work on the bill
Some of chamber members have not had a chance to speak on it
Leadership will often make changes because they want the bill voted out or it is dead.
The people who are offering amendments know that there’s a time limit for passing bills
They are willing to run out the clock and hold a bill hostage so other bill don’t get passed
Other members care but not to the point to kill their own bill
Making changes can add votes, but can also lose votes – must have majority
Rarely does a bill come up and fail- votes are counted in advance
Maybe your bill gets a striking amendment that completely changes it
Laptops for every student, last minute change makes it a study
What happened? That is what they thought they needed to do to get it out
Is it even worth having the bill at this point?
At what point has the bill changed so much, you can’t support it?
Or is something better than nothing, study means do it next year
Teach with TVW is a free online resource provided by TVW for Washington state social studies teachers to engage their students in state government and help to inspire active citizens.
Learn more at: https://www.teachwithtvw.org
