Please find below scheduling information for the first few weeks of session and several key session dates thereafter. 

January 3
• Convene at 10:00 a.m.
• Bill Introduction
• Election of Executive Board Chair (and other offices if necessary)
• Adjourn by noon or when introduced bills have been processed by the Clerk’s office

January 4, 5, and 8
• Convene at 10:00 a.m.
• Bill Introduction
• Adjourn by noon or when introduced bills have been processed by the Clerk’s office

January 9
• Convene at 1:30 p.m.
• Bill Introduction
• Adjourn around 3:00 p.m. or when introduced bills have been processed by the Clerk’s office

January 10 and 11
• Convene at 9:00 a.m.
• Bill Introduction
• Debate of amendments to the permanent rules
• Recess at noon and reconvene at 1:30 p.m. to continue debate; Adjourn around 4:00-5:00 p.m.

January 12
• Convene at 9:00 a.m.
• Bill Introduction
• Continue debate of rules
• Work through lunch and adjourn mid-afternoon
• (Tentative) Last day to submit bill requests to the Revisor of Statutes/Bill Drafting Office (by noon)

January 16
• Convene at 10:00 a.m.
• Bill Introduction
• Continue debate of rules, if necessary
• When the debate of rules is completed, debate of carry-over legislation will begin
• Recess at noon and reconvene at 1:30 p.m. to continue debate; Adjourn around 4:00-5:00 p.m.

January 17
• Convene at 9:00 a.m.
• Last day of Bill Introduction
• Continue debate rules/legislation
• Recess at noon and reconvene at 1:30 p.m. to continue debate; Adjourn around 4:00-5:00 p.m.

January 18
• Convene at 9:30 a.m.
• 10:00 a.m. — Governor Pillen’s State of the State Address
• Continue debate rules/legislation
• Recess at noon and reconvene at 1:30 p.m. to continue debate; Adjourn around 4:00-5:00 p.m.

January 19
• Convene at 9:00 a.m.
• Continue debate rules/legislation
• Work through lunch and adjourn mid-afternoon

January 22
• Convene at 10:00 a.m.
• Floor debate
• Adjourn by noon
• Public Hearings begin at 1:30 p.m.

January 25
• Convene at 9:00 a.m.
• 10:00 a.m. — Chief Justice Heavican’s State of the Judiciary Address

February 14, Prior to Adjournment
• Last day to submit a letter to the Speaker requesting the designation of a bill as a 2024 speaker priority bill
February 15, Prior to Adjournment
• Deadline for designation of committee and senator priority bills

February 20, Prior to Adjournment
• Speaker will announce remaining 2024 speaker priority bills

February 29
• Final day of public hearings

March 4
• Full Day floor debate begins

March 7
• Appropriations Committee’s mid-biennium budget bills placed on general file

March 12-26
• Debate and passage of the mid-biennium budget bills package

March 18-April 9
• Senators are requested to keep their session day evenings open beginning March 18 and throughout the remainder of the session for extended floor debate.

2024 Amendments to the Permanent Rules
I have asked Senator Erdman as chair of the Rules Committee to hold a public hearing on all of the proposed rule changes to the permanent rules that are filed with the Clerk for printing in the Journal by the end of day 2, Thursday, January 4th.

The Thursday deadline will allow Senator Erdman to announce the public hearing on Friday for a Monday hearing, providing the members and the public with three days notice as required by our rules.

If the Rules Committee advances any proposed rule changes to the floor on Tuesday, January 9th (and it is my expectation that they will) I will be scheduling all day debate on proposed rule changes beginning Wednesday, January 10.

On Tuesday, January 9, we will convene at 1:30 p.m. to allow the Rules Committee to meet that morning if necessary.

I have asked the Clerk to formalize the past informal practice of requiring all proposed rule changes to be drafted by the Clerk, similar to the manner in which all bills must be drafted by the Bill Drafter’s office. To have a proposed rule change introduced and printed in the journal, it must first be drafted in final form by the Clerk, Brandon Metzler, with help from Assistant Clerk Dick Brown.

Priority Bills
I have made the decision to not recognize the priority status for 2023 priority bills with respect to scheduling. The priority bills which were not adopted last session will need to be reprioritized as a 2024 priority bill, if senators so choose, for scheduling in the 2024 session.

Cloture
I will be providing members with my 2024 cloture policy prior to debate of the first bill in the 2024 session.