What is the Office of Senate Floor Analyses?

Nonpartisan: The Office of Senate Floor Analyses was created in 1984 to provide nonpartisan analyses of legislation that comes to the Senate Floor for a vote. Before 1984, Senators relied on bill analyses produced by the Democratic and Republican Caucuses.

The Office of Senate Floor Analyses is organized under the Senate Rules Committee, directed by the Secretary of the Senate, and guided by an Oversight Committee made up of Senators.

Per the Standing Rules of the Senate, with the exception of the Budget Bill and budget implementation bills, no bill, constitutional amendment, concurrent resolution, joint resolution, Senate resolution, unfinished business item, or report of a conference committee may be considered unless and until the Office of Senate Floor Analyses has placed an analysis upon the desks of the Senators, unless otherwise ordered by the President pro Tempore.

Bill Analyses: A piece of legislation is analyzed at many points during the lawmaking process: before each hearing by a Senate or Assembly policy and fiscal committee and before it is taken up by the entire house for a vote on the floor.

The Floor Analyses, written by policy committee staff, includes point-by-point specifics on what the bill would do, the arguments in favor and against the bill, the fiscal impacts of the bill (if relevant), as well as the prior history of the bill and background information on the issue.

Bill analyses are organized by bill number and easily accessible online.