Essay On Political Caucus

During the committee phase, members of the public may speak for/against bills. Bills are typically assigned based on subject matter. For example, if the bill deals with an education statute, it is assigned to the committee which handles educational issues. In some cases, Committees may overlap, and so the presiding officer may assign a bill to more than one committee. For example, a bill involving tax credits for schools might be assigned to the Education Committee and the House Ways and Means committee which handles tax issues. A bill cannot advance until it passes out of all assigned committees. A bill is unable to pass out of an assigned committee if the chairperson chooses not to schedule the bill for committee hearing and vote. This decision …show more content…
This is the point in which each party caucus gathers to discuss the bills allowing every legislator the opportunity to view every bill. The purpose of the caucus is informational and formal voting does not take place during this step of the process. The caucus will sometimes choose to take a "caucus position" on a certain bill. This happens more often with the minority party caucus, when they choose to unite in opposition against a bill put forth by a majority party member. (“POS 220 lesson 10”, 2017, The Bill-to-Law Process …show more content…
If no amendments are desired, this step is skipped. During this process the whole chamber must approve floor amendments for those amendments to be adopted. Most debate on a bill takes place during this step in the process and can become quite a heated debate. The COW chairperson maintains order and enforces decorum during these debates, and the Constitution protects the legislators from civil liability for words spoken during debate (Part 2, Sec. Bill which are placed in COW must be voted out to advance. Bills rarely get stopped in COW because it is seen mainly as a stage for debate and amendment of a bill by the legislatures. (“POS 220 lesson 10”, 2017, The Bill-to-Law Process