A | |
| Act | An Act is a bill that has passed both houses of the legislature and has been signed by the governor of a state. |
| Adjourn | The termination of a session or meeting for the day, with the hour and day of the next session being set prior to adjournment. |
| Amendment | An amendment is a proposal to alter the wording of a bill or measure under consideration by a subcommittee, committee, or the floor of the legislature. |
| Appropriation | An amount of money set aside or earmarked for a particular purpose by a bill. |
| Author (or Sponsor) | Person(s) or committee(s) listed on the bill as responsible for it in the chamber of origin. |
B | |
| Bill | A bill is a proposed law introduced by a member of the legislature. A proposal to create, change or repeal a law. |
| Bill Analysis | A bill analysis is a written report on potential legislation, completed by a legislative services agency or committee, explaining the bill and its impact on the state. |
C | |
| Calendar | The calendar is the list of bills eligible for debate and often contains the daily business of each chamber with committee meetings or public hearings. |
| Capitol | The building in which the legislature houses its main meeting chambers. |
| Caucus | Caucus can be defined as a group of legislators who form an interest bloc around a particular issue. Or, alternatively, a caucus is a smaller group of legislators assembling for the purposes of discussion. |
| Chair | The legislator appointed to preside over a committee or sub-committee. |
| Committee | Committees are sub-groups of the legislature that examine legislation. Often, there are many standing committees, which are divided into sub-committees that address specific areas of concern. |
| Conference | A conference is a series of formal meetings between legislative chambers, often to resolve differences in a particular bill. |
| Constituents | The people who live within a legislator’s district are referred to as constituents. |
| Cosponsor | A cosponsor is a member who adds his/her name as a supporter of another member’s bill. |
D | |
| District | A district is the geographical area encompassing the citizens represented by a legislator. |
E | |
| Executive Order | A document signed by the executive branch that decrees policy for executive agencies. |
F | |
| Floor | The floor is the portion of one of the large meeting rooms in the capitol in which the entire chamber (House or Senate) routinely meets to conduct official business. |
H | |
| Hearings | A hearing refers to a committee meeting in consideration of a specific bill where testimony is taken from witnesses representing government agencies, private sector organizations and interested members of the public. |
I | |
| Incumbent | Incumbent refers to a sitting member of the legislature running for reelection. |
L | |
| Law | A law is the end result of the legislative process. Usually, a bill becomes law when the executive branch signs an act passed by the legislature. |
| Legislative History | The legislative history is a file containing all the available information on the enactment of a bill. This file could contain testimony, memoranda, tapes or transcripts of committee meetings or other items. |
| Legislative Manual | A legislative manual is a guide to the legislature that contains lists of members, meeting room and office locations, and a description of the legislature and its processes. |
M | |
| Mark-Up | A mark-up refers to the process of going through the contents of a piece of legislation in the committee process before reporting the legislation out to the larger assembly. |
O | |
| Omnibus Bill | Usually a term used by the U.S. Congress, an omnibus bill packages together several measures into one or combines diverse subjects into a single bill. Examples include combined appropriations bills and reconciliation bills. |
P | |
| Pre-Session | Pre-session is a period of time prior to the official session during which committees meet and consider proposed bills. |
| President of the Senate | The president is the presiding officer of the Senate. |
President Pro
Tem(pore) | The president pro tem is the senator who serves as presiding officer in the absence of the president of the Senate. |
Q | |
| Quorum | The smallest number of members needed to conduct business, usually a simple majority. |
R | |
| Ranking Member | The ranking member refers to the second highest rank on a committee on the majority side, after the chairman. |
| Ranking Minority Member | The Ranking Minority Member has the highest rank on a committee on the minority side. |
| Recess | Recess is an interruption or intermission during the course of the day's work. |
| Referendum | A referendum is a proposal placed on the ballot for consideration by the voters. |
| Roll Call | Roll call is the calling of legislator names to determine whether enough members are present to conduct business, either in committee or one of the larger bodies. |
S | |
| Session | The formal session is the period of time the legislative body gathers to conduct official business. |
| Sine Die Adjournment | Sine Die is the final adjournment that concludes the legislative session. |
| Speaker | The speaker is the presiding officer of the House of Representatives. |
Speaker Pro
Tem(pore) | The speaker pro tem is the member who presides over the House in absence of the speaker. |
| Subcommittee | A subordinate, usually smaller subgroup of the full committee, tasked with a specific charge or jurisdiction. |
| Sunset | The predetermined time provided by a law at which a statute or one or more of its provisions ceases to be law. |
T | |
| Testimony | Testimony is the process of taking formal spoken comments by a committee, often accompanied by written submissions. |
V | |
| Veto | A veto is the limited power of the executive branch (governor, president) to formally disapprove of a piece of legislation. A 2/3 majority can usually overturn a veto. |
W | |
| Whip, Majority or Minority | Whips are party floor leaders, one for the majority party, and one for the minority party, responsible for assuring that members vote according to the direction set by party leadership. |
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Other Useful Resources |
