Senate adopts SR15 to fix March crossover dates, leadership warns lawmakers time is short

The Senate adopted Senate Resolution 15 on a voice vote, setting internal 'crossover' deadlines for the session: March 15 for bills to leave committees of jurisdiction and March 22 for bills to clear money committees. Speaker 3 framed the deadlines as a hard calendar that, if missed, typically sends measures to the Rules Committee in the second year of the biennium where late bills face greater resistance.

Why it matters: Crossover deadlines determine which bills can advance to later stages of consideration. Speaker 3 told colleagues that there were '19 legislative days' left before the March 15 deadline and urged senators to 'rededicate ourselves and begin the final push for crossover.' He said the Rules Committee in the second year 'tends to be a little more reluctant to allow things that have missed crossover to leave.'

SR15 was presented by Speaker 3 and adopted after a call for the question by the presiding officer (Speaker 1). The resolution itself establishes calendar targets rather than changing statutory law; its effect is to guide the Senate’s internal scheduling and committee priorities for the remainder of the session.

Context and next steps: With SR15 adopted, committee chairs and bill sponsors will face compressed schedules to hold hearings and report bills before the stated deadlines. The resolution does not change legal filing deadlines set by statute; rather, it records the Senate’s expectations for committee action this year. The Senate proceeded to other business and announcements after adopting SR15.