Understanding legislative calendars is key to any advocacy strategy. They can provide you with a rough outline to prepare for your New Voices campaign, but you’ll need to know what you’re looking for. We’re breaking down legislative calendars to guide you through what each date means, and the sort of advocacy you can do at each stage.
Before we get into specifics, it’s important to note that not every state legislature meets every year. Four states (Montana, Nevada, North Dakota and Texas) meet biennially, meaning only in odd-numbered years. That gives advocates in those states more time between sessions to generate support and plan for the next session. The other 46 states do meet every year, though most do not meet throughout the entire year.
At a minimum, it is important to know when your state legislature convenes (starts) and when it adjourns (ends) its session. Always confirm dates with the official legislative website, as legislatures may change their calendars, filing rules or deadlines.
Keep reading to learn more about other deadlines to consider and ways you can get your advocacy started.
Key Terms:
- Session: The time period in which legislatures are meeting to discuss and pass legislation.
- Cycle: The entire legislative calendar. Some states have a two-year cycle in which bills introduced in one year are carried into the next, also known as a biennium. Other states start a new cycle each year.
- Off-season: The time period when a legislature is not meeting.
Prefiling Dates & Off-Season Advocacy
Prefiling is the process by which legislation is filed and submitted prior to a legislative session’s official start. Prefiling periods typically start a couple of months before the legislative cycle begins (November, December or January). This time is the earliest a bill can be introduced, and coalitions typically begin working with legislators during this time. The earlier a bill is introduced to the legislature, the more time you’ll have to advocate for it and the better chance that bill has of passing during the legislative cycle.
Eleven states currently have no prefiling date, meaning they do not offer the chance to introduce bills prior to the start of their legislative session. These states are California, Connecticut, Idaho, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin. In these states, advocates will have to wait until the start of the legislative session for their bills to be introduced.
However, in every state, advocates can and should begin their work in the off-season, before the prefile date or convening of their legislature. During this time, advocates can take on a number of other advocacy activities. At a minimum, you’ll want to confirm the key elements or protections you want to include within your bill (our model bill is a great place to start), and meet with SPLC’s Advocacy and Organizing Team to connect with other advocates and discuss next steps. You’ll also want to think about your story in connection with this work. Think about:
- Why is student journalism important to you?
- Why are these protections vital to student journalists?
- Why is a free student press important to your (school/community/state)?
These questions will further help you when speaking with legislators and when writing your testimony for any potential hearings. You may also want to collect testimonials or censorship stories from other students and advisers from across your state.
Sessions Convene
Currently, 46 states meet in even-numbered years, and all 50 states meet in odd-numbered years. Most states begin their sessions in January, though a handful of states begin in December, February, March or even April.
These dates mark the most active period of any advocacy strategy. Between the start and end of the legislative sessions, advocates are meeting with legislators, publishing op-eds, hosting webinars or informational meetings, participating in lobby days, and so much more, all designed to gain support for their New Voices bill. During the sessions, some state legislatures hold committee hearings, where advocates testify in support of the legislation. The start of a session marks when real progress and movement can begin for your campaign. While you should already be planning and strategizing well before the start of a legislative session, these dates can be a good kickoff date for more public and outward-facing advocacy.
In-session Deadlines
To further complicate things, several states have additional deadlines within the legislative cycles. The two to be most aware of are intro deadlines and crossover deadlines. These deadlines are typically set within a legislative cycle and must be checked regularly to ensure that your bill progresses in line with those dates. If you have a bill sponsor, they should be aware of these deadlines.
Intro deadlines are the latest dates that a new piece of legislation may be introduced to the legislature. Most states will have an intro deadline, but they are not known well in advance of the session. Some state legislatures have different deadlines for each chamber. If you are still working to have your New Voices bill introduced, check your state legislative websites frequently to ensure you don’t miss it.
Crossover deadlines are the latest dates that a bill can pass the chamber in which it was introduced and move to the other chamber for consideration. Any bill that does not “crossover” by that date is very unlikely to pass in that session.
Session Adjournment
Adjournment is the end of a session. It is typically the last day a piece of legislation is discussed or voted on. Though there are exceptions, bills like New Voices are extremely unlikely to be considered after a session adjourns, and advocates will have to wait for their next legislative session for their bill to pass.
Carryover
Different from crossover, carryover refers to the years that introduced legislation is brought from one year into the next. Currently, 23 states allow bills to “carry over” in a two-year cycle. Most of these states start this two-year cycle in odd-numbered years, while two states, New Jersey and Virginia, start their cycle in even-numbered years. After the two-year cycle is completed, a bill must be reintroduced to the legislature for consideration.
Carryover lets advocates work on bills beyond the typical legislative session. In states with very short sessions, carryover gives advocates a chance to build more support for the second year in the given cycle. Noting when or if your state allows carryover can help you plan your advocacy on a longer timeline. If your state allows carryover, you effectively have two years to work on a particular piece of legislation.
In the 27 states that do not have carryover, a new bill must be introduced every year the legislature is in session.
Finding Your Legislature’s Calendar
Knowing what these dates mean is one thing; knowing how to find them is another. The best way to find your state’s legislative calendar is to check with your state legislature itself. Speaking with a chamber clerk can give you the most up-to-date information, but you can also typically find information on your state legislative website. If you are already working with a legislator, they can also provide you with insight into session-specific dates that you should be aware of.
At the Student Press Law Center, we use multiple websites that pull legislative calendars from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. While not always perfect, these websites can provide some insight into your state’s legislative calendar. Always be sure to double-check any dates found on these websites with information from your legislature directly.
- MultiState: Provides legislative deadlines for all 50 states and is updated frequently as the legislative cycles commence. It includes information on prefiling dates, start and end dates, crossover and intro deadlines, and information about carryover.
- FiscalNote: Provides legislative deadlines for all 50 states and D.C. It also provides all of the above deadlines and information, but it is less frequently updated.
- StateScape: Provides more limited deadlines for all 50 states. It includes start and end dates and carryover information.