Crossover Day for the state legislature is scheduled Thursday, March 7 this year. It is one of the busiest days for lawmakers and they often remain in session late into the night and early morning hours. So, what exactly is Crossover Day, you ask? Read on.
40 Days: Unlike Congress, which meets year-round and takes frequent breaks, The Georgia General Assembly meets for 40 legislative days at the beginning of each year. You may have noticed that the General Assembly begins in January and ends sometime in April, so these obviously aren’t 40 calendar days.
A legislative day is a day that the legislature meets in session to vote on bills and resolutions. Legislative Day 28 is known as crossover day.
What is Crossover Day?: This is the last day that a bill can be passed in one chamber and sent to the next chamber. It is the last opportunity for bills to cross over from the House to the Senate and vice-versa. Bills that don’t get a floor vote by crossover day generally won’t be passed this year.
Why Does It Matter?: Crossover Day gives us a clearer picture of which bills are likely to become law this year. Bills that successfully cross from one chamber to the other could end up on the Governor’s desk.
What if a bill doesn’t crossover?: Each session of the General Assembly is actually two years. This year is the first year of the session so a bill that doesn’t get voted on by crossover day can be held until next year. If a bill doesn’t get voted on next year by crossover day, it will die and would have to be re-written and re-submitted in 2021.
Source: The Georgia Sun
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