Possible outcomes of Rule 10 deadline

February 2, 2022 is the deadline for most Joint Committees to issue their recommendations of next steps for bills under their review. This deadline is referred to by the Legislature as the Joint Rule 10 deadline. Committees can issue a report recommending that bills “ought to pass,” “ought not to pass,” or be given a study order. Committees are also permitted to request an extension order which would allow them to continue to review bills further before issuing their report. Importantly, Joint Rule 10 is just one step in the legislative process that will continue through 2022 and even if a bill receives a favorable report, it would still need to clear several other hurdles prior to it potentially becoming a law.

“Ought to pass”

The Committee recommends that this bill move forward in the legislative process. The Committee may recommend changes to the bill, redraft the bill entirely, or combine provisions from multiple bills into a new bill. Often, amending a bill will change its bill number. The recommended proposal will generally be sent to the Committee on Steering and Policy or to the Ways and Means Committee for additional review before potentially moving to each branch of the Legislature for further debate.

“Ought not to pass”

The Committee recommends that this bill not move forward in the legislative process, effectively killing the legislation for this legislative session. Generally speaking, in order to be considered in the future, the proposal must be refiled for consideration in a new legislative session and go through the legislative process again.

Study Order

This authorizes the Committee to sit during recess and study this measure and file a report of its findings. However, for the vast majority of bills sent to a study order, no further action takes place, and the bills sent to study are effectively dead.