Senator Hobson, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, told fellow senators that the House docket room was closed and, as a result, many appropriations conference reports could not be filed and were “effectively dead” for the current conference weekend.

Hobson said negotiators had completed roughly 70 of about 105 appropriations bills they intended to resolve, and he expected another 20 to 25 Senate-originated conference reports were ready for conferees to review at the 2:16 p.m. post-recess meeting. But because the House was not in session and its docket room was closed, Hobson said those conference reports could not be filed and therefore could not move forward.

Why it matters

Appropriations conference reports finance state government operations and programs. If the reports cannot be filed and passed, funding for specific programs and settlements could be delayed or lost, and lawmakers may need to hold a suspension resolution to extend filing deadlines or call a special session to complete the work.

What the chair said on the floor

Hobson told senators he had been negotiating with House conferees through Thursday and late into the night, and that progress had been substantial, but the House’s decision to leave meant conference reports could not be submitted. “I felt like we were on course to get most, if not all, the bills done by today,” Hobson said. “But since the House docket room is closed, effectively, those bills are dead at this point.”

Hobson urged conferees to come to the designated conference room after recess to review the conference reports that were complete so they would be ready if future procedural action made quick movement possible. He also said he did not yet know whether there would be a suspension resolution or a special session.

Budget impacts and at-risk items

On the floor later, Hobson warned that certain deficit bills for the current fiscal year would be affected if not addressed, and identified roughly $11,000,000 in funding for child protective services as an example of an at-risk appropriation. He also noted pending settlement payments and other deficit-related expenditures that rely on timely appropriations.

Options discussed by senators

- Suspension resolution: Several senators discussed a suspension resolution (a joint rule suspension) to extend the filing deadline. Senator Seymour and others asked whether a suspension would be narrowly drawn to only restore appropriations deadlines; Hobson said his focus would be on funding state government and noted that the contents of any suspension would be a broader chamber decision.

- Special session: Senators also raised the possibility of a special session if the chambers cannot resolve the filing issue.

- Emergency authority: The chamber noted some existing emergency statutes allow temporary administrative actions (for example, temporary licensure in disasters), but Hobson said appropriations work requires formal conference reports and filing in both chambers.

Reactions from the floor

Senator Wiggins asked whether the Senate could have started negotiating earlier; Hobson said he had offered to start earlier but the House was not ready until Thursday. Senator England said he would not support a suspension resolution and preferred to avoid extending the session; others said they were weighing the political and pragmatic consequences of suspension versus a special session.

Senator Sparks warned that finance and revenue bills share deadlines and that some bills with revenue consequences (including a recent vehicle for pension revenue identified in earlier debate, Senate Bill 3095) could also die if their conference reports were not filed by the deadline.

Next steps

Hobson asked conferees to report to the conference room after recess to review completed reports; he said only the presiding officer and chambers can decide whether to pursue a suspension resolution or call a special session. He urged members to be prepared to reconvene if the process is reopened.