Executive Committee sets special-session bill deadline for Aug. 8, allows OLLS to make technical edits

The Executive Committee of the Legislative Council voted unanimously Thursday to adopt a staff memorandum setting the deadline for special-session bill requests at 12:00 p.m. (noon) on Friday, Aug. 8, and authorized the director of the Office of Legislative Legal Services (OLLS) to make technical edits to the document.

Ed Dacheco, director of OLLS, told the committee the staff draft distributed to members divides the 15 days of the special session so drafters and fiscal analysts can prepare bill text and fiscal notes and have bills ready for committee work on the first day. "This represents sort of staff's best approach of how to divide the 15 days," Dacheco said, describing the schedule and the decision points highlighted in the draft memorandum.

Members raised competing concerns about the time needed for traveling legislators to prepare proposals and the capacity of nonpartisan staff to draft bills and produce fiscal notes. A member identified as the majority leader noted…