Florida lawmakers introduce thousands of proposals every year, but many go nowhere.
There are a lot of steps in a bill's journey to become a law — and a lot of chances for a bill to die.
Kathryn in Orlando filled out the Your Florida form and asked us to break down how the calendar system works.
First, a lawmaker in the House or Senate introduces legislation.
Then, the proposed legislation has to pass through a committee before it goes on one of the chamber's calendars.
And less than half of the proposals ever make it there.
"The committee, whether it doesn't like the bill and just puts it under the rug, or it just runs out of time (and) doesn't have enough time to consider the merits of the bill, the bill dies for the lack of action," said Ed Benton, a political science professor at the University of South Florida.
"Primarily, the Senate President or the House Speaker have absolute authority to determine what bill is brought up off the calendar any day," Benton added. "They can take Bill 9089 and make it number one."
If a measure passes the committee and makes it to the calendar, it still has a long way to go. Benton said legislative leaders typically make sure proposals they want passed are heard.
"It's what the leadership wants to address and what bills will be looked at first," he said. "It'll always be what's on the top of the leadership's agenda."
Once a measure passes, it can move to other committees or go to a full house vote. And then it goes through the same process in the other house.
While bills pass or fail in the House and Senate, Benton said governors can also lobby the legislators to pass certain legislation.
"Governors can say things early in the session and say, 'I don't like this bill. I know it's a top priority of some of the key legislators, but I will tell you... If it reaches my desk in its current form, I will veto it,'" Benton said.
"Charlie Crist did it, Rick Scott did it, even Jeb Bush. Going back as far as Reubin Askew or even Lawton Chiles, they would tell the legislature that I got some serious reservations (and) concerns about this bill," he added.
You can view the most current and up-to-date calendars below:
If you have any questions about the legislative session, you can ask the Your Florida team by clicking here.
This story was produced by WUSF as part of a statewide journalism initiative funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
