Beyond The Hill: Committees and the Journey of a Bill in Pierce County
By Bryan Dominique
Communications Manager – Office of the Pierce County Council
I had some thoughts about this summer’s committee reduction, and it starts with a talking piece of paper; and no, I haven’t lost my mind yet.
“I’m just a bill. Yes, I’m only a bill, and I’m sitting here on Capitol Hill.” When I think about my path to public service, I always come back to these famous words first sung in 1976 by Jack Sheldon through the voice of a lonely cartoon bill on Schoolhouse Rock.
I wouldn’t hear this song until many years later, but it captured my imagination. I became fascinated by the fact that we argue about things called bills, and then everyone does what the words say, even if they don’t like it. For instance, it starts with a phone call to a member of Congress, who says, “You’re right, there should be a law for that.” So, as we were preparing to head into the summer committee reduction, I reflected on the experience of first hearing that song.
Through the lens of a 10-year-old me, the lyrics sounded a lot more like the ‘be seen, not heard’ rule, where adults talk, kids listen, regardless of how silly it seemed, and no one was ever the wiser to ask what the kids want.
Fast forward 10 years, and I’m a 20-year-old in the Army participating in community relations events with surrounding communities.
It was, at this point I think, that I think I realized I had a fundamentally incomplete picture of civic engagement, particularly in terms of the power and accessibility of local government.
The song’s failure to look beyond the national process led me to a predisposed interest in local government and the legislative process in particular. I should probably hold more gratitude in my heart for Dave Frishberg, who wrote that song, for laying the seeds for such a fulfilling career.
As any good public servant would in a legislative office, I was thinking about legislation as we headed into the built-in slow legislative period to provide time for staff to take vacations, complete administrative work, and attend to other tasks that are often delayed due to current operations.
So, this week’s messaging focus is on committees and what they do. First, though, let me establish a common picture for us.
You’ll encounter terms such as consent agenda, ordinances, and resolutions. The consent agenda is just that, items the entire body consents to schedule or approve. Ordinances are law, and resolutions provide direction on everything from appropriations to confirmation of advisory board appointments.
When legislation is submitted to the Pierce County Council for consideration, its first appearance to the public is on the Consent Agenda at a regularly scheduled Tuesday Council meeting. If the Consent Agenda is approved, the legislation is scheduled and assigned to a Standing or Select Committee.
The assigned Committee will then schedule it for review and a public hearing, consider amendments, and thereafter, recommend pass, do not pass, or provide no recommendation to the full Council. This is where community members have the most ability to influence the final proposal that gets sent to the Council.
From there, the legislation [ordinance or resolution] is scheduled for final action at a future Council meeting, where the full Council will hold another public hearing, consider any additional amendments, and vote on the proposal. In some instances, legislation is continued to a future Council meeting to provide more time for councilmembers to gather information they will use to inform their decision, and amendments can be made.
After a final public hearing, the Council takes action on the resolution. Generally, this process takes approximately three weeks.
So, you may think a law is needed for that. We need to consult with the community first to gather their thoughts and perspectives, and the local government is well-positioned to do so.
Working for the Pierce County Council is a career that is both immensely rewarding and relentlessly busy, except when I have time to think about committees during committee reduction.
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