Belt-Tightening California Lawmakers Kill Hundreds of Bills in Fiscal Committees

Facing a budget deficit, Senate and Assembly panels scrap 275 of 830 measures in the so-called suspense files.

The California Capitol in Sacramento on April 18, 2022. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

The Senate and Assembly appropriations committees sidelined 275 bills Aug. 15 during suspense file hearings—where bills with significant fiscal impacts are considered without testimony.

Suspense file hearings take place twice a year, and bills that impact the state’s general fund by $50,000 or any fund by $150,000 are typically placed in the file to await votes by the fiscal committees.