AZ Legislature 101: What I Didn’t Learn in AP Gov
Dina I -
Hello everyone!
Before diving into my next blog posts and final product, I want to take a step back and provide some context on the AZ Legislature (how a bill becomes law in our state).
If you’ve taken AP Government, you probably have a broad overview of this process. I took AP Gov, and no course could prepare me for the complexity of how it actually works other than seeing it first-hand.
Today, I will try my absolute best to explain it and avoid the complexity.
Every bill begins its journey in the appropriate committee. This is basically the place where bills on that specific topic are sent to be heard. To be “heard” simply means it’s presented: the committee listens to the bill and decides whether to approve it. If it clears this first stage, it’s ready for the next stage.
That next stop? Caucus.
Caucus is where the political party lines come into sharper focus. Each party, Democrats and Republicans, holds its own caucus meeting, where they hear a short summary of the bill. This summary is often delivered by a policy staffer or an intern. Here, party members decide how they want to handle the bill moving forward.
- At this point, representatives have two choices. If they’re okay with the bill moving ahead, they vote to place it on the consent calendar (essentially, a fast track for bills that can be immediately voted on without further discussion).
- But if they have concerns or if they oppose the bill, they can vote to remove it from the consent calendar. That decision sends the bill into the next stage:
Next Stage? Committee of the Whole (COW)
In COW, the bill is reintroduced, but this time it’s up for full discussion and debate between both parties. This is where representatives voice concerns and make their arguments. Once debate wraps up, they vote on whether the bill should advance to the final stage.
That final stage is known as Third Read. It usually happens a day or two after COW. This is the last step in the legislative process on either the House or Senate side. At Third Read, representatives take an official vote (yes or no) and determine whether the bill will pass.
And that’s all! That’s the journey a bill takes through the Arizona Legislature: from committee, to caucus, to debate, and finally, to the decisive vote.
You’ll see in posts ahead how both partisanship and bipartisanship come into play.
Hopefully, by laying out this foundation, you don’t feel as lost as I was when I first started learning about it!
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