On the final day of the 2013 legislative session, state senators voted on a large stack of bills totaling more than 1,000 pages. In the final two hours, they voted on a different bill roughly every three minutes.

The closer the clock gets to the end of the session, the more frenetic the House and Senate become. On the final two days, there’s so much legislation flying around that it’s impossible for anyone to read and understand much of what they’re voting on.

Will it be any different this year, when the Legislature arrives at its final day on March 20? Here’s a hint:

Conference committees, in which three members of each house work out differences on a bill, often send the amended measure back to the floor on the final day (or night). So this year, a state senator proposed that members receive at least 24 hours to read a conference committee bill before having to vote on it.

The reform bill died in committee.

The full story will be in Sunday's AJC and on myajc.com.

About the Author

Keep Reading

A picture of Brad Barnes from his campaign website. (Screenshot)

Credit: Screenshot

Featured

Amber Hicks and Cherokee County firefighter Justin Hicks were found dead from gunshot wounds inside their home in November 2021. (Cobb County Fire and Emergency Services)

Credit: Cobb County Fire and Emergency Services