Are there too many legislative bills?

One of the perennial questions that gets asked each legislative session is “How many bills are enough?” Too often, monitoring legislative bill introductions can feel like that scene in the original Harry Potter movie, where thousands of pieces of mail are floating around the house. When it comes to bills, thousands of introductions aren’t an exaggeration. For example, just a few weeks into the 2026 Legislative Session, Washington lawmakers have already proposed more than 1,300 bills.

Although just over 100 bills have been proposed so far in Idaho during that same time period, the Gem State will also see a voluminous number of bills by the time the session ends. Are numerous bill introductions just lawmakers being responsive to constituents, or does it adversely impact the efficiency and transparency of the legislative process?

That is the question that may soon be debated by Idaho lawmakers. According to the Statement of Purpose for SCR 114:

“In recent years the volume of legislation brought by lawmakers has ascended to problematic levels. This creates logjams for bill drafters and has placed unreasonable expectations on that critical human resource. This resolution seeks to add a new joint rule 24 that will help temper that volume, provide for quality over quantity, and provide faster turnaround times. This will benefit not just bill drafters but the committee process and legislators alike.”

The new proposed Joint Rule 24 would essentially limit the number of draft bills per member to 25 each session. There would be several exemptions, however.

According to Idaho’s Legislative Services Office (LSO):

“During the 2025 legislative session, 1,378 proposed pieces of legislation were prepared for legislative committees and individual legislators with 790 bills, resolutions, memorials, and proclamations introduced.”

A bill chart by LSO notes this was the largest number of bill introductions during the last seven years.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL):

“Proponents of bill introduction limits also feel that the limits reduce the number of ‘hero bills’ going through the system. The idea is not to restrict lawmakers’ work, but to reduce the amount of time spent on superfluous proposals and to allow more time for substantive legislation. Most legislators do not have enough time to read and understand all bills. Bill limits help streamline the legislative process and reduce costs for staff, printing and paper . . . Opponents feel that bill introduction limits restrict legislators’ rights to propose bills and carry out their legislative responsibilities.”

NCSL research shows that these are some of the ways legislatures limit bill introductions:

• Colorado House and Senate: “Members may introduce up to five bills per year. Appropriations bills and committee bills are excluded from the limit. The Committee on Delayed Bills may grant permission to exceed the limit.”

  
  

• Florida House: “Member may introduce no more than six bills during the legislative session. Three additional bills are allowed if a lawmaker is trying to repeal obsolete laws. Bills that do not count toward the limit include claims bills, local bills and House resolutions. It takes a two-thirds vote to waive the limit.”

  
  

• Nebraska Senate: “Committees may introduce no more than eight bills in a session. Governor’s bills and bills introduced upon a motion adopted by three-fifths vote (that traditionally includes appropriation bills) are exempt from the limit.”

  
  

• North Carolina House: “Representatives may introduce only 10 public bills. Agency bills, local bills, committee bills, and resolutions are exempt from the limit. The rule limiting introductions may be suspended.”

  
  

• Wyoming Senate: “Senators may introduce seven bills during the first session of the biennium and three during the second. Appropriations bills are excluded from the limit. The limit may be suspended by two-thirds vote.”

Interestingly, the Washington legislature once had a 10-bill introduction limit, but it was repealed in 1981.

Whether or not the number of bills introduced is restricted, one sure way to help improve the transparency of the legislative process in Idaho is to provide citizens (and lawmakers) with more time to consider proposed legislation. This is why we are encouraging the legislature to adopt rules requiring at least a 3-day notice before holding public hearings on bills after the text first becomes available for review. Based on the results of our 2026 Idaho Poll, 92% of Idahoans support this type of legislative transparency requirement.

While the legislature considers these various reforms, Mountain States Policy Center is helping to make it easier to understand legislative bills with WONK, a free AI legislative companion that reads, explains, and answers your questions about every bill in just seconds.

You can utilize WONK here.