Standing Committees Study, Improve Legislation

Every delegate serves on a standing committee, which will review and vote on bills headed to the floor of the Senate and House of Representatives.

Delegates choose a committee assignment when they arrive at the General Assembly.

Committees are the first stop for every bill introduced at TISL. Each bill is referred to a standing committee by the Secretary of State when the bill is introduced.

For each bill, the committee first hears from the bill's sponsors. When considering legislation, committees can amend it to improve it or to reflect the opinion of the majority of the committee.

The committee reports each bill to the floor with a recommendation for passage, a recommendation for defeat or with no recommendation.

The Governor appoints a Chairman, Vice Chairman and Secretary for each committee. Any delegate is welcome to apply. Chairmen tend to be experienced delegates, but Vice Chairmen and Secretaries are often first-year delegates.