Funnel week is finally upon us here at the Iowa State House. Not all legislatures in the country have a funnel week, but in Iowa the looming procedural deadline only adds to the excitement at the Capitol.
In order to understand funnel week, one must first understand how a bill gets to be debated by the full body. After being filed by a member, a bill is assigned a subcommittee. Most subcommittees consist of three members; two from the majority party and one from the minority party. If there are more than three members, the majority party in a chamber always has the extra vote. A majority of subcommittee members must sign off on a bill in order for it to go before the full committee.
Once a bill passes in subcommittee, the committee chair, with the input of leadership, decides if the bill will be heard by the full committee. Most bills are thoroughly vetted during the subcommittee process in order to find consensus, but some move forward on party line votes due to difference in opinions. As soon as the bill passes through committee, it is eligible to be debated on the floor by the full body.
Iowa uses the funnel process to narrow down the number of bills that can move forward in a legislative session. In the first funnel there is one goal: to get bills through their respective committee. If a bill does not pass through a committee, it is essentially “dead” for the remainder of session. This process of “killing” bills ultimately allows lawmakers to focus their efforts on only the most important legislation.
The fun starts all over again in four weeks with the start of the second funnel week. The purpose of the second funnel week is to get bills that have passed out of the first chamber to pass out of the second. This second funnel serves as the last hurdle before a bill is debated for the final time on the floor. If the bill passes during final debate, then it’s off to the Governor’s desk for signing.
How fun is that?