The Senate and House each have an agenda that is prepared for floor sessions known as the Order of Business: House Order of Business | Senate Order of Business.
These agendas include lists of bills that may be discussed. The House and Senate have different names for those lists; they also have somewhat different operating procedures.
In the House, the list of bills that are ready for discussion is called the Calendar for the Day or Supplemental Calendar for the Day. Bills that appear on the calendar are chosen from the House General Register by the House Rules Committee. The bills that are selected from the calendar for discussion may be amended and given a third reading—all on the same day. A noncontroversial bill may be placed on the Consent Calendar.
In the Senate, the process is a bit different. Bills that are eligible to be discussed and amended are placed on the General Orders calendar, the Special Orders calendar, or the Consent Calendar. For the most part, decisions about which bills are on Special Orders or the order of bills on General Orders are made by the chair of the Committee on Rules and Administration or their designee. As in the House, the Senate Consent Calendar is for noncontroversial bills.
When discussing bills on the General Orders calendar, the Senate forms itself into what is known as a Committee of the Whole. Bills on General Orders can be amended and recommended to pass. That passage is considered preliminary passage. Those bills are then placed on the Senate Calendar for a third reading and final passage at the next floor session. Bills on the calendar cannot be amended except by unanimous consent. A bill can bypass the General Orders calendar by being designated a Special Order. It can then be debated, amended, and given a third reading, all on the same day.
See the FAQ about Special Orders or FAQ about Consent Calendars for more information about those bills. See also the FAQ: What is the General Register? What is General Orders? What is Special Orders? See the Legislature's Civic Engagement Resources page for more about how a bill becomes a law.
For more about what's happening in the Legislatures, see our Combined Legislative Meeting Calendar.
Last reviewed: 05/08/2026