I was reminded today that we don’t act on a bill unless it is before us. Literally.

“There is no more work at the desk,” the Speaker said at the conclusion of this morning’s session. Nothing unusual about that.

For the full House to take action on a bill, a folder containing a hard copy of the bill and any amendments to it must be on the Chief Clerk’s desk, right in front of the Speaker’s rostrum.

One time, a bill of mine failed because my chairman couldn’t retrieve it from the Clerk’s Office and bring it to the chamber before midnight on the last night of the session.

I didn’t lose a bill today, but for a while no one knew where the folder was.

The green jobs bill was referred to two committees. Appropriations acted favorably on it Saturday, but Economic Matters had not taken it up.

The reason: the bill folder could not be found. This morning, my staff helped find it.

Economic Matters will vote on it tomorrow – when the bill will be before it.