In some states and in Congress identical versions of a bill can be introduced in the House and Senate simultaneously. The version will each have their own unique number, but if they both pass without revision, the bill passes without either version having to cross over and get voted on in other chamber. Likewise, if one version gets hopelessly mired or voted down in one chamber, it doesn’t matter what happens in the other chamber. If the bill passes one chamber, but with amendments, then it will have to go through the other chamber in the usual fashion.
Clearly knowing if a bill has a companion in the other chamber, and the current status of the companion bill, would be helpful. We’ve added this information to our bill summary screen. You can click the link to see more details about the companion bill, including current status.
Also some bills are related to other bills, similar to other bills, enable other bills, are enabled by other bills, etc. We are also including this information on the bill summary screen as well. Again, the details of the related bills are displayed when you click on the link.
We hope you find this new information helpful.
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