A Resident’s Guide: Understanding YOUR (very unique) State Legislature!

State of San Andreas

The San Andreas General Assembly (SGA) is a bicameral legislature composed of a House of Representatives and a Senate. Senators serve 4 year terms and are limited to 2 consecutive terms. Representatives serve 2 year terms and are limited to 4 consecutive terms. No legislator may serve more than eight years in their respective houses. Senators are elected to serve counties with 2 senators usually elected to serve one county, while Representatives serve a population of people. This keeps the legislature balanced between geography and population. There are 35 senators total, and 65 representatives total, with 100 total legislators in the GA.

How does a bill become a law here?

There is a series of readings for each bill (First, Second and Third). The First Reading is the formal introduction of the bill where the title and sponsors are read aloud and the presiding officer assigns it to a committee. The committee can vote to pass it with favorable recommendation to the full chamber, or vote unfavorably (the bill is lost). If the bill is reported favorably, it goes to a Second Reading where legislators can propose amendments to the bill (This is also called the Committee of the Whole), this reading is strictly for amendments – if no amendments are proposed it is laid over for the next working day for a third reading. The third reading is a debate and final vote on the bill’s passage. Legislators can speak in support or opposition and there is a final vote. If it passes with a simple majority, it goes to the second chamber where the process repeats. If it fails, it is lost. After passing the second chamber, it goes to the governor for signature or veto.

Committee of the Whole

The Committee of the Whole serves as the primary arena for full-chamber debate in the San Andreas Legislature, occurring during the Second Reading of a bill. The process begins with a formal motion to "resolve" into the committee, at which point the Speaker or President vacates the rostrum and appoints a fellow member to serve as Chairman. This symbolic shift relaxes the strict rules of formal session, allowing for a more fluid exchange of ideas where legislators can speak multiple times on a single amendment and engage in a more conversational style of parliamentary debate than is permitted during final passage.

During this stage, the assembly focuses on the granular details of the legislation by reviewing reports from standing committees and considering new floor amendments. Members may propose changes to specific lines of text, which are then debated and settled via voice votes or standing "divisions." This is also the most common stage for high-stakes political maneuvering; for example, an opponent might move to "strike the enacting clause," a lethal motion that, if passed, strips the bill of its legal authority and effectively kills it before it can progress any further.

The proceedings conclude with the committee "rising" to report its findings back to the formal body. The Chairman delivers a Committee of the Whole Report, summarizing which bills were recommended for passage and which amendments were adopted. The full House or Senate then votes to officially adopt this report, which "engrosses" the bill—meaning it is reprinted with all accepted changes. Only after the committee of the whole report is adopted can a bill be scheduled for its Third Reading, the final, recorded roll-call vote required to send the legislation to the other chamber or the Governor’s desk.

What are the different bill versions? 

1. Introduced

   1. The version as introduced and assigned to a committee

2. Engrossed

   1. The version as amended by committee or committee of the whole (chamber of introduction)

3. Reengrossed

   1. The version as further amended by committee or committee of the whole (chamber of introduction)

4. Revised

   1. The version as amended by committee or committee of the whole (second chamber)

5. Rerevised

   1. The version as further amended by committee or committee of the whole (second chamber)

6. Final Act

   1. The version as approved by a conference committee in both chambers, or the second chamber if no additional versions arise after the engrossed version.

7. Signed/Vetoed Act

   1. The version signed or vetoed by the executive

8. Chaptered Act

   1. The version as written into permanent statutory law, assigned a Title, Article, and Section where it will reside in the revised statutes until a future legislature amends or repeals it. (A collection of session laws are published 90 days after sine die of each general assembly)

Part-Time legislative body

The SGA is a part time body that only meets in regular session for one hundred twenty calendar days each year, usually convening in January and adjourning sine die in May. This is due to a constitutional amendment in November 1990 that was passed, transforming the SGA from a full time, all year legislature into a part time body. Calendar days include weekends, holidays, natural disasters, health outbreaks, and yes… fires and the apocalypse. If you want to read more about the unforgiving clock, go to https://saleg.uscgov.com/state-legislature-explained 

Presiding Officers of Each Chamber

Both chambers elect eight parliamentary officers to carry out duties and the daily order of business. 

House of Representatives

• Speaker of the House

• Speaker Pro Tempore

• Chief Clerk of the House

• Majority Leader

• Minority Leader

Senate

• President of the Senate

• President Pro Tempore

• Secretary of the Senate

• Majority Leader

• Minority Leader

Standing Committees and Public Hearings

State Law mandates that each bill get at least one public hearing in the legislative process, and that hearings are announced at least seven days in advance. The GA recently adopted internal policies on remote participation for public testimony and input. To look at  the upcoming hearing schedule, go to the GA website and click on the Committee Calendar tab under “Committees” 

Understanding Assembly and Session Numbers

An Assembly number identifies the group of senators and representatives elected to serve during a particular legislative term. A new General Assembly begins when newly elected members take office following a general election. The number continues consecutively from one General Assembly to the next and does not reset each year.

The House of Representatives is elected in its entirety, and the Senate is elected in half every two years. For that reason, each General Assembly ordinarily lasts two years and contains two regular sessions:

The First Regular Session occurs in odd number years following the general election. 

The Second Regular Session occurs during even number years in an election year. 

How is a session called and who convenes them?

Prior to the adjournment sine die of an ongoing session, both houses will adopt a joint resolution setting the convening date and deadlines for the next regular session.