Sometimes two bills are introduced that cover almost the same things. Why do these duplicate bills occur? Sometimes it is just coincidence – two legislators had the same idea or were lobbied by groups in their districts about the same facet of the law. This was the case with SB1334, introduced by Senator Edwards, and HB1923, introduced by Delegate Ayala, to amend broadband capacity pilot program law (§56-585.1:9) language. Both bills sought to accomplish the same purpose, striking the word “nongovernmental” to allow both municipal authorities and the private sector to provide Internet service under the program. However, identical bills can also be introduced in the House and Senate intentionally in order to expedite the bill review process. The Delegate and Senator planning on introducing the identical bills work together and may also work with vested outside groups to craft the bill. This was the case with SB1212, introduced by Senator Edwards, and HB1893, introduced by Delegate Hurst, for the creation of a New River Valley Passenger Rail Station Authority.
 
The House and Senate consider each bill separately. This means that if identical bills have been introduced in both chambers, they will each go through committee review, in the chamber in which they were introduced. Amendments may be made, and, once reported from the committee, each bill will be brought up to vote and passed by that chamber. Once the bills cross over from one chamber to other, they will go through the same process once again. But, if the members are already familiar with the bill because they have reviewed its twin, the process moves more quickly; the bill does not require the same level of scrutiny. However, either house may have added amendments to the bill that will require agreement by the opposite chamber. If any amendments are rejected by either chamber and on the amending chamber does not withdraw them, then a conference committee with representatives from each chamber will be called to negotiate.
 
On the other hand, if a bill is not noncontroversial, such as one that deletes an obsolete bit of code (SB1214), then there is no need to introduce the bill into both houses; it will pass quickly on crossover without any extra help.
 
Thus, introducing duplicate bills in the House and Senate helps the legislative process run quicker. The process generates more support for the bills, perhaps making them broadly more appealing, since there is interest in both chambers. Issues with the bill’s language will be caught earlier in the process and addressed since the same bill is under review by both chambers.

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This article was written by Alisande Tombarge, a Legislative intern hired by your Chamber. After graduating with a geography degree from George Mason University, Alisande worked for over 10 years in land conservation performing GIS and administrative support work for conservation easements throughout Virginia. In 2019 she decided to pursue a master of urban and regional planning degree at Virginia Tech, and will graduate in May. Alisande has worked as an intern with the New River Valley Regional Commission since January 2020, getting her first taste of planning while continuing to work with GIS. She has been an integral part of the Chamber’s new legislative program. After graduation, Alisande hopes to find a position in the NRV region and finally have the time to explore all the area has to offer.