Author:  Michael Speciale

Sponsoring Bills – What Does That Mean?

There are times when our elected Senators or Representatives indicate that they support a bill. They will use several different terms such as Primary Sponsor, Sponsor, and Co-sponsor. Each means different things, and they require various levels of participation from the General Assembly member.

A primary sponsor is the one who has the bill written and he/she is the one who submits it for consideration. A bill number is assigned, and, on first reading, the Speaker assigns it to the committees where the bill needs to be passed to work its way to the House or Senate floor for a vote.

A Sponsor is any of an additional three members who can have their names put on the bill along with the Primary Sponsor. The Primary Sponsor decides who can add their name to his/her bill. These three Sponsors may have collaborated diligently with the Primary Sponsor to get the bill written, or they may have done nothing but simply asked the Primary Sponsor to add their name to the bill because they support it.

A Co-sponsor simply goes on his computer and looks up the bills that have been recently assigned a bill number and puts a check in the box allotted to indicate that he/she supports the bill as written. There is no limit to the number of Co-sponsors who may check support for the bill. Co-sponsors have no input into the writing of the bill, and because many bills do not make It to the Chamber Floors, Co-sponsoring a bill lets folks know that the bill, as currently written, is supported by the Co-signers.

Not all bills submitted are intended to be heard because some members will submit a bill to placate a constituent, but the members will not push to have the bill heard in committees or on the Chamber Floors. Press your member on what they are doing to move a bill through the committees if they have submitted one at your request, or if you simply want to see a bill passed regardless of whether the member submitted it at your request.