Written by: Paul Barnes | April 8, 2021

By: Paul Barnes

What is a Companion Bill?

Let’s begin with the definition of a companion bill: a pair of identical bills that are introduced in both the House (or Assembly) and the Senate at the same time. The phrase “companion bills” is also sometimes used to refer to bills that are part of the same “package” of bills when they are all related in some way and are essentially smaller parts of one larger bill. Over the course of this help post, when companion bills are mentioned it will only be referring to the first definition, not the second.

On BillTrack50 bill pages we will show companion bills on the summary tab in most cases. You can also use the Similar Bills tab to find them - any companions will tend to show up at the top of the list. You can also include a column in bill sheets which will show you if the bill has a companion.

Why Allow Companion Bills?

While the purpose of having companion bills is quite varied, one of the main reasons is to allow the bills to move through the legislative process more quickly. The basic idea is that by introducing the bills in both chambers at once the bills can be considered at the same time. Instead of spending a few months in one chamber then spending a few more months in the other chamber, the bills will instead spend those months at roughly the same time (or that is the idea anyway), and will be ready to get signed into law in half the time as normal. If either chamber changes the bill, however, then the changes must still be approved by the other chamber. Due to the nature of the legislative process, changes to bills are fairly likely to happen, making it somewhat unlikely the pair of bills will actually pass in identical form.

Another helpful aspect of companion bills is that if one bill fails in some way the other bill could still end up passing.

H0189 and S0468 from Florida are an example pair of companion bills.

Chart of Which States Allow Companion Bills

The following chart (which was created with mapchart) details what States allow or don’t allow companion bills. The legend is as follows;

  • Blue: Allowed. These states allow the use of companion bills in their state legislatures.
  • Purple: Not Allowed. These states do not allow for the use of companion bills in their state legislatures.
  • Red: These states technically allow for the use of companion bills, but they are hard to use or are frowned upon or something else prevents companions bills from being needed/useful in these states.
  • Yellow: This state is unicameral. Hence having a bill in two chambers is not possible as there is only one chamber.

Note: “DC” on the map refers to the U.S. Congress.

Table of Which States Allow/Don’t Allow Companion Bills

This table contains the same information as the map above with additional notes and examples of companions bills where possible.

Note: For formal companions, BillTrack50 links the companion bill on the bill summary tab. In the table below + indicates a state where the companion is listed as “Same As” by BillTrack50, and ++ indicates the companion is listed as “Cross Filed”.

State Companion Bill Status Examples Comments
Alabama Allowed HB101SB122 +
Alaska Allowed SB80HB60
Arizona Allowed HB2044SB1049
Arkansas Allowed HB1020SB3
California Allowed AB329SB262
Colorado Allowed HB1018SB150 Not formally called companion bills
Connecticut Not Allowed N/A
Delaware Not Allowed N/A
Florida Allowed HB0181SO678 +
Georgia Allowed HB788SB309
Hawaii Allowed HB1000SB1154 +
Idaho Not Allowed N/A
Illinois Allowed HB2723SB1797
Indiana Allowed HB1388SB0041
Iowa Allowed HF116SF276
Kansas Allowed HB2423SB277
Kentucky Allowed HB159SB109
Louisiana Technically Allowed HB37SB72 Done very rarely but allowed.
Maine Not Allowed N/A Duplicated/similar bills are often combined.
Maryland Allowed HB1003SB780 ++
Massachusetts Technically Allowed N/A Allowed but extremely discouraged.
Michigan Allowed HB4553SB0254 + Often called “duplicate bills”
Minnesota Allowed HF100SF12
Mississippi Allowed HB1460SB3035
Missouri Allowed HB487SB225
Montana Allowed HB309SB289
Nebraska One Chamber Legislature N/A As the legislature only has one chamber companion bills of this type, would make little sense.
Nevada Technically Allowed N/A Duplicate bills are usually withdrawn. Rarely are they allowed.
New Hampshire Allowed HB172SB115
New Jersey Allowed S3320A5211 +
New Mexico Allowed HB49SB208 Often called “Duplicate Bills”
New York Allowed A00164S00297 +
North Carolina Allowed H100S155 +
North Dakota Not Allowed N/A
Ohio Allowed HB61SB132
Oklahoma Allowed HB2174SB659
Oregon Allowed HB2695SB856
Pennsylvania Allowed HB836SB437
Rhode Island Technically Allowed H5978S0680 Not formally recognized but happens, both identical bills can be enacted
South Carolina Technically Allowed H3183S0514
South Dakota Allowed HB1135SB119
Tennessee Allowed HB0001SB1236 ++ All bills must have a companion bill
Texas Allowed HB1024SB298 +
Utah Not Allowed N/A
Vermont Allowed H0110S0004
Virginia Allowed SB127HB117 +
Washington Allowed HB1008SB5416 ++
West Virginia Allowed HB2007SB269 +
Wisconsin Allowed AB85SB91
Wyoming Allowed HB0306SF0079 Often called “Mirror Bills”
U.S. Congress Allowed HR1162/S487  +

 

Information for this post was mainly gathered by contacting the state legislatures, clerks offices and legislative research libraries of each state directly, and asking them about if their state allows the use of companion bills. Some legislatures were surprisingly difficult to get ahold of. Additionally, this NSCL report, page 10-12, was helpful for supporting information. I also want to thank the legislative professionals who took the time to speak to me about the nuances in the process in certain states.

Conclusion

In short there are many states that allow for Companion bills and a small number that do not. Knowing which states allow for companion bills can be very helpful in getting important legislation that you or your organization cares about passed in a quick and efficient manor. We hope this post will be a useful resource to you about companion bills.