No. Your name will not go onto any bill unless the OLLS has received your permission to be added as a joint prime sponsor, an additional sponsor, or as the opposite house prime sponsor. The procedure for getting your permission is called “sponsor verification.” If the sponsor of a bill or a lobbyist tells the OLLS that you will sponsor the bill, you will most likely receive a call, an e-mail, or a personal visit form a member of the OLLS staff stating that the Office is trying to “verify” you as a sponsor on Member A’s bill. You are then free to say yes or no. Or, after you tell Member A or the lobbyist that you will be a sponsor on the bill, you can call or email the OLLS verifying that you will be a sponsor. After we confirm your sponsorship with Member A, we will add your name to the bill.

You may ask to see a copy of the bill before you agree to become a sponsor. The OLLS will then get permission from Member A to give you a copy. If you still can’t decide whether to become a sponsor, you should probably talk directly with Member A.

Section 22 of Article V of the Colorado constitution says that “no bill shall become a law except by a vote of the majority of all members elected to each house taken on two separate days in each house…” The requirement that a majority of all members of each house must vote for a bill on two separate days means that bills cannot be heard on second and third reading on the same day. A bill can be introduced, read on first reading, heard in committee, and then passed on second reading in the same (busy) day. This means it takes a minimum of two days for a bill to pass either the House or the Senate.

This two-day minimum per house means that the minimum number of days for a bill to pass is three. A bill could be introduced in the House of Representatives on Day 1, and then sent to committee and to the floor for second reading later that day. However, the state constitution requires that third reading take place on Day 2. After the bill has passed the House, it may be introduced and sent to committee and then on to second reading in the Senate on Day 2. Final passage of the bill by the Senate on third reading and consideration of concurrence or appointment of a conference committee, if necessary, would have to wait until Day 3.

So, the answer is a minimum of three days.

No, you don’t need an opposite house prime sponsor when your bill is introduced.  You must, however, have an opposite house prime sponsor before your bill can pass on third reading in the house in which you serve.  So, before your bill is heard on third reading, talk with a member of the opposite house about being the second-house prime sponsor on your bill.  Once someone agrees, talk to the Chief Clerk of the House if you’re a representative, or to the Secretary of the Senate if you’re a senator, about the form you need to fill out.  After you turn the form in to the front desk of the house in which you serve, the front-desk staff will make sure that the opposite house prime sponsor’s name appears on the reengrossed version of your bill when it is introduced in the second house.

While your bill is still in the possession of the OLLS, any other member may let the Office know that he or she wants to be a sponsor on your bill.  The member can notify the OLLS in person, by phone, or in writing, including e-mail, and we will add his or her name to your bill.  Also, there are sponsor sheets available in the OLLS front office.  If you have other members initial this sheet and you return it to the OLLS, we will also add these members as sponsors.

Once your bill is delivered to you by the sergeant-at-arms, you may have other members sign on as sponsors by having them sign their names on the sponsor sheet inside the back cover of your bill.  The names of all members that sign this sheet will be added to the bill before it is printed.  Remember that you can’t add sponsors to a bill this way if the bill is delivered directly to the front desk.

As you may recall, one of your bills must be introduced on the first day of session.  Since the Office must deliver this bill directly to the front desk before the legislative session starts, you can only have other members sign on as sponsors of your first bill if, before we deliver your bill to the front desk, they drop by, call, or email the OLLS or you turn in an initialed sponsor sheet.

As you’re probably aware, Joint Rule 24 (b) (1) (A) allows a member of the General Assembly to introduce only five bills during a regular session of the legislature.  However, there are many circumstances under which you may be able to introduce more than just five bills.

If you sponsor one or more interim committee bills, they will not count against the limit.  And, you can sponsor an interim committee bill even if you don’t actually serve on the interim committee.  But the bill must be approved by the Legislative Council before it can be introduced.  See Joint Rule 24 (b) (1) (D).

Bills for appropriations and bills introduced by the audit committee, the joint budget committee, the capital development committee, the legislative council, the executive committee, the committee on legal services, the legislative emergency preparedness, response, and recovery committee, or the commission on uniform state laws also do not count against the bill limit.

Also, each year certain committees of reference participate in the sunset review process.  Through this process, a committee reviews reports from the department of regulatory agencies concerning the continuation or repeal of state programs and advisory committees and the committee reviews certain statutory reporting requirements.  The committee then introduces bills to either continue or repeal the programs, advisory committees, or reporting requirements, and these bills do not count against the five-bill limit.

Finally, you may seek permission for extra bills from the Committee on Delayed Bills for the house in which you serve.  In the House of Representatives, the Committee on Delayed Bills consists of the Speaker of the House and the majority and minority leaders.  In the Senate, it’s the President of the Senate and the majority and minority leaders.  To introduce more than five bills, you will need the signature of two of the three members of your delayed-bill committee.

Submitting bill requests for 2012 now, or as early as possible, provides you with several advantages. The designated bill drafter will contact you, by phone or email, soon after your bill request is assigned. This gives you plenty of time to discuss your request with the drafter and for the drafter to do any necessary research. You can also conduct meetings with stakeholders and constituents to discuss ideas relating to the bill request, and you will have the opportunity to review more drafts of the bill than if you wait until December to submit your request. Finally, requesting your bill early may allow you to obtain an early estimate on the fiscal impact of your bill and leave you enough time to make changes before introduction if necessary. Submitting your bill requests early may save you from having to introduce a strike-below amendment at the first committee hearing!

Also, keep in mind that the deadline for a member to submit his or her first 3 bill requests is December 1. This date will be here sooner than we think.