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	HB101 – SB122	+
Alaska	Allowed	SB80 – HB60
Arizona	Allowed	HB2044 – SB1049
Arkansas	Allowed	HB1020 – SB3
California	Allowed	AB329 – SB262
Colorado	Allowed	HB1018 – SB150	Not formally called companion bills
Connecticut	Not Allowed	N/A
Delaware	Not Allowed	N/A
Florida	Allowed	HB0181 – SO678	+
Georgia	Allowed	HB788 – SB309
Hawaii	Allowed	HB1000 – SB1154	+
Idaho	Not Allowed	N/A
Illinois	Allowed	HB2723 – SB1797
Indiana	Allowed	HB1388 – SB0041
Iowa	Allowed	HF116 – SF276
Kansas	Allowed	HB2423 – SB277
Kentucky	Allowed	HB159 – SB109
Louisiana	Technically Allowed	HB37 – SB72	Done very rarely but allowed.
Maine	Not Allowed	N/A	Duplicated/similar bills are often combined.
Maryland	Allowed	HB1003 – SB780	++
Massachusetts	Technically Allowed	N/A	Allowed but extremely discouraged.
Michigan	Allowed	HB4553 – SB0254	+ Often called “duplicate bills”
Minnesota	Allowed	HF100 – SF12
Mississippi	Allowed	HB1460 – SB3035
Missouri	Allowed	HB487 – SB225
Montana	Allowed	HB309 – SB289
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	HB172 – SB115
New Jersey	Allowed	S3320 – A5211	+
New Mexico	Allowed	HB49 – SB208	Often called “Duplicate Bills”
New York	Allowed	A00164 – S00297	+
North Carolina	Allowed	H100 – S155	+
North Dakota	Not Allowed	N/A
Ohio	Allowed	HB61 – SB132
Oklahoma	Allowed	HB2174 – SB659
Oregon	Allowed	HB2695 – SB856
Pennsylvania	Allowed	HB836 – SB437
Rhode Island	Technically Allowed	H5978 – S0680	Not formally recognized but happens, both identical bills can be enacted
South Carolina	Technically Allowed	H3183 – S0514
South Dakota	Allowed	HB1135 – SB119
Tennessee	Allowed	HB0001 – SB1236	++ All bills must have a companion bill
Texas	Allowed	HB1024 – SB298	+
Utah	Not Allowed	N/A
Vermont	Allowed	H0110 – S0004
Virginia	Allowed	SB127 – HB117	+
Washington	Allowed	HB1008 – SB5416	++
West Virginia	Allowed	HB2007 – SB269	+
Wisconsin	Allowed	AB85 – SB91
Wyoming	Allowed	HB0306 – SF0079	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.