Legislation, Statutes & Constitution

RS: Draft Legislation -- Not Available Until Introduced

An RS is a "routing slip" number used by the Legislature to identify draft legislation. RSs may or may not become bills and cannot be posted on the Internet until they achieve official bill status. All draft legislation is the property of the requesting legislator and is confidential until formally considered by the standing committee to which the legislator has taken the draft to request approval for introduction. If the committee agrees, the RS is approved for printing and begins the process through the Legislature as an official bill. If the committee does not agree or takes no action, the RS dies in committee. If the draft is withdrawn by the legislator before formal committee consideration, the draft remains confidential and is not a public record. Legislative staff only releases copies of RSs with the approval of the requesting legislator.