This Week in Education Legislation: Crossover Week and Crossword Puzzles

Happy Friday! With Crossover Week now over, we can all look forward to attending House and Senate Education Committees again. As we look ahead to key education policy decisions, take a moment to refresh your knowledge of the legislative process and how a bill becomes a law—and why not try your hand at the Crossover Week Crossword Puzzle!

Breakdown of the Legislative Process

A bill, which is a proposed law presented to the legislature for approval, is introduced in a chamber by a sponsor, who is the legislator responsible for presenting the bill. It can also be introduced by a group of members, a standing committee, or a majority of a committee after being drafted by the Legislative Council.

The bill is assigned a number, goes through its 1st reading (a formal presentation of a bill before being voted on), and is then referred by the Speaker to appropriate standing committees and the Chief Clerk for printing and distribution.

Committees, led by a representative in charge called the chair, administer the 2nd reading, determine which bills are heard, oversee discussions, reviews, and votes on bills. Review may include hearings, expert testimony, and public statements. After review, committees report recommendations to their chamber, either the House or Senate. If the Rules Committee then determines that the bill is constitutional and properly formatted, it may advance.

If approved, the Committee on Rules places the bill on the Active Calendar, and the Speaker of the House or President of the Senate set the order for consideration.

House or Senate Committee of the Whole (COW) convenes, which is when the entire legislative chamber meets as one committee to debate and amend (or make changes to) bills before a final vote during the 3rd reading.

Once the bill moves to a 3rd reading, a roll call vote is taken, requiring all present members to vote unless excused. No member may vote on behalf of another. If the bill receives a "Do Pass" (DP) or "Do Pass Amended" (DPA) recommendation, this means it passed its vote on the floor, and it advances further in the process.

If passed by the House, the bill moves to the Senate before the crossover deadline, the deadline by which bills must pass in their chamber of origin to be considered by the other chamber. The same procedure applies to bills originating in the Senate.

Once in the opposite chamber, the bill goes through the same process it went through in its originating chamber. (Start over again at Step 3, once completed Step 6 go to Step 9).

If the chamber passes the bill in the same form, it is sent to the Governor.

If the chamber amends the bill by adding or deleting material, including a “striker” amendment which removes everything about a bill’s original content and replaces it with new language, it returns to the originating chamber.

The chamber of origin may accept the new version and send it to the Governor, or may reject the changes and send the bill to a Conference Committee.

A Conference Committee, made up of representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House and senators appointed by the President of the Senate, works to resolve differences by accepting the original version, adding new material, deleting language, or finding another compromise.

The Conference Committee submits a report to both chambers for approval, and after final passage, the bill is sent to the Governor.

Once received by the Governor, the bill may be signed into law (a rule or regulation enacted by the government) or allowed to become law without a signature if no action is taken within five days (or ten days after the legislature's adjournment). The bill then becomes part of the Arizona Revised Statutes.

The Governor may veto (reject) the bill, but must return it to the House with reasons. The Legislature can overturn the Governor’s veto with a two-thirds vote of all representatives (or three-fourths if it is an emergency measure).

If a bill fails to advance through the legislative process, it is considered dead. A bill that has stalled or has not advanced but is not yet dead is designated as held.

For any legislative action to occur, a quorum, which means the minimum number of legislators needed to conduct official business, must be present.

By default, laws take effect 90 days after the legislature adjourns, known as the General Effective Date. However, if a law includes an “emergency clause,” it becomes effective immediately upon the governor’s signature.

Mark your calendar! Here’s what’s coming up in next week’s committee meetings:

Tuesday, March 4th, 2025 @ 2:00 PM
House Education Committee
The following bills will be heard:

SB1225 grade levels; 9/11 instruction (Mesnard)

SB1255 public schools; safety; reporting requirements (Bolick)

SB1437 mandatory reporting; school employees; investigations (Werner)

Wednesday, March 5th, 2025 @ 1:30 PM
Senate Education Committee
The following bills will be heard:

HB2074 school safety; proposals; assessments; plans (Gress)

HB2170 Individualized education programs; dyslexia diagnosis (Gress)

HB2375 children with disabilities; evaluation; deadline (Carter, P.)

Test Your Knowledge!

After reading through the legislative breakdown, click the link below to see if you can solve the crossword puzzle.

Crossover Week Crossword Puzzle

Check back next week for the answer key!

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