When I was a kid, I thought this was a catchy tune; but never knew that Schoolhouse Rock actually did a very good job of summing things up.
While the video speaks of Congress and President….just substitute the SC General Assembly and Governor and you now know the process in very elementary presentation.
Sometimes students (or adults) will ask me “how many bills did y’all pass this year?” Some think passing a lot of bills means we “did something”; others (more often than not) believe less is more.
For the first year of the 120th Session of the General Assembly, here were the numbers:
From the House:
Total Legislation filed: 1,339
General Bills: 656
Resolutions: 683
Of those numbers, 52 General Bills became law while 621 Resolutions passed.
That means more 604 General Bills filed in the House didn’t become law and 62 Resolutions didn’t pass.
From the Senate:
Total Legislation filed: 805
General Bills: 467
Resolutions: 338
Of those numbers, 53 General Bills became law while 252 resolutions passed.
That means 414 General Bills filed in the Senate didn’t become law and 86 Resolutions didn’t pass.
Oh well…they still have a chance next year; but no doubt will be joined by a new batch of bills and resolutions in January!
As always, if you’re a constituent in the area and have a suggestion for legislation, please contact me here. If you’re outside the area, simply reach out to your House member of Senator whom you can find by going to the SC Statehouse website.