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OK-Lawmakers file more than 2,300 new measures
01/15/2010 by Shawn Ashley
(OK) Lawmakers filed more than 2,300 new measures to be considered during the 2010 legislative session.Thursday was the deadline for filing new measures for consideration during the legislative session that gets underway Feb. 1. A total of 2,303 new measures were filed.
The House, with its 101 members, filed the largest number of new bills - 1,153. A total of 1,082 new bills were filed by the Senate's 48 members. House members also filed 31 new joint resolutions, and Senate members filed 28 new joint resolutions.
Combined, legislators filed 2,294 new pieces of legislation that must pass through both chambers before taking effect.
A total of nine concurrent and simple resolutions also were filed by legislators.
In addition to the new measures filed by Thursday's deadline, a total of 2,847 bills and joint resolutions were carried over from 2009's legislative session that may be considered during the Legislature's 2010 session, including 901 House bills, 860 Senate bills, 48 House joint resolutions and 38 Senate joint resolutions.
In total, 5,141 bills and joint resolutions are active and available for consideration once the legislative session begins.
The next step will be for legislative leaders to assign the bills and joint resolutions to the standing committees of their respective chambers for consideration. Representatives will have until Feb. 25 to report bills and joint resolutions out of committee for possible consideration by the full House. The Senate deadline for reporting bills and joint resolutions from committee is one week earlier, Feb. 18.
The deadline for third reading of bills in their chamber of origin is March 11 for both the House and the Senate.
The Senate deadline for reporting House bills and joint resolutions from committee is April 1. The House deadline for reporting Senate bills from committee is April 8.
The deadline for third reading of bills in the opposite chamber is April 22.
The Legislature is scheduled to adjourn sine die on May 28.
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