Jump to Content

Glossary of Legislative Terminology


A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W


A

Act
Bill becomes an act after passing one or both chambers. Also used to denote a current law.

Adjournment
End a legislative day.

Ad Hoc Committee
Committee appointed for a special purpose. An ad hoc committee automatically dissolves upon completion of a specified task or at the end of a biennial session.

Adoption
Approval or acceptance by a house; applied to amendments, resolutions, and joint resolutions. This is in contrast to "pass," which means to enact a bill by the required number of votes.

Advice and Consent
A constitutional provision for confirmation by the Senate of certain appointments by the Governor.

Amendment
A proposal to ok, or an actual change to a bill, a motion, an act or the U.S. Constitution.

Apportionment
Allocation of legislative seats by law. The 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are apportioned to states based on population.

Appropriations Bill
Grants the actual monies approved by authorization bills, but not necessarily to the total permissible under the authorization bill. Originates in the House and is usually not acted on until the companion authorization measure is passed.

Authorization Bill
Authorizes a program, specifies its general aim and conduct, and puts a ceiling on monies that can be used to finance it. Usually enacted before an appropriations bill is passed.
B

Bill
A proposed law.
C

Caucus
The meeting of members of a political party, usually to decide policy or select members to fill positions. Also, the group itself.

Censure
An act by a legislative body to officially reprimand a member. The act of censuring is an official condemnation for actions committed by a public official while holding a public trust.

Chair
Presiding officer during session or presiding officer of a committee, subcommittee, or task force.

Chamber
Either the House of Representatives or the Senate.

Cloture
In the U.S. Senate, the only way to end a filibuster is through a cloture vote. If a super majority of 60 senators vote for cloture, time limits for debate will be set.

Companion Bill
A bill which is part of a group or package of bills that is necessary to accomplish a single legislative goal. Companion bills are often tie-barred.

Concurrent Resolutions
A resolution expressing the intent of both houses, on matters of interest of the Legislature, the State and the Nation.

Conference Committee
A committee composed of senators and representatives named to work out differences between same-subject bills passed by both chambers. If a compromise is reached, it must then be approved by the Senate and House.

Congressional Record
The printed, daily account of debates, votes and comments in the House and Senate published by the Government Printing Office.

Continuing Resolution
If Congress has not enacted all the necessary appropriations bills when a fiscal year begins, it passes a joint resolution continuing appropriations at rates generally based on those of the previous year.
E

Earmark
To specify funds for a particular purpose.

Enbloc Voting
To consider as a whole; to adopt or reject a series of amendments by a single vote.

Enacting Section
The sections of a bill that establish effective dates, repeals, tie bars, or other conditions on effectiveness of the legislation. Enacting sections appear at the end of the bill.

Executive Session
A meeting closed to the public.

Expenditures
The actual spending of money as distinguished from its appropriation. The administration makes expenditures; Congress votes appropriations. The two are rarely identical in any fiscal year. Expenditures may represent money appropriated in previous years.
F

Filibuster
A device, used only in the Senate, to delay or prevent a vote by time-consuming talk. It can be stopped only by a 60-member vote of the senators present and voting.

Five-Minute Rule
A debate-limiting rule of the House. Under the rule, a member offering an amendment is allowed to speak five minutes in its favor, and an opponent of the amendments is allowed to speak five minutes in opposition. Debate is then closed.
G

Gag or Closed Rule
Prohibits amendments not approved by the committee that brought the bill to the House floor. At the request of the sponsoring committee, the House must either accept or reject the bill as recommended by the sponsoring committee. The procedure is usually limited to tax and Social Security bills which are complicated and highly technical.
H

Hopper
A wooden box into which representatives place proposed bills.
J

Joint Committee
A committee of senators and representatives.
L

Line-item Veto
Power exercised by the Governor to veto specific items in an appropriation bill, while still signing the remainder of the bill into law.
M

Majority Leader
Leader of the majority party in either the House or the Senate. In the House, second in command to the Speaker.

Mark Up
The section-by-section review and revision of a bill by committee members.

Minority Leader
Leader of the minority party in either the House or the Senate.
O

Omnibus Bill
A legislative proposal concerning several separate but related items.

Override a Veto
Congress may try to override the president's veto in order to enact a bill into law. The override of a veto requires a recorded vote with a two-thirds majority in each chamber.
P

Pocket Veto
Failure of the Governor to sign a bill within the required 14 days of presentation after sine die adjournment.

President Pro Tempore
Because the vice president, who is president of the Senate, is seldom present to preside, the Senate elects a "president pro tempore," or temporary president who, if he does not preside each day, assigns the job to another senator, usually of junior seniority.

Public Acts
Bills that have been approved by the Legislature and signed into law by the Governor, filed with the Secretary of State, and assigned a Public Act number.
Q

Quorum
The number of members whose presence is necessary for the transaction of business.
R

Ranking Member
Member of the majority party on a committee who ranks first in seniority after the chair.

Ranking Minority Member
The senior member (in terms of service) of the minority party on a committee.

Recess
Concludes legislative business and sets time for the next meeting of the legislative body.

Report
A committee's written record of its actions and views on a bill. The committee "reports" its findings to the House or Senate.

Rescission
A bill rescinding or canceling budget authority previously made available by Congress.

Resolution
A formal statement of a decision or opinion by the House or Senate or both. A simple resolution is made by one chamber and generally deals with that chamber's rules or prerogatives. A concurrent resolution is presented in both chambers and usually expresses a congressional view on a matter not within congressional jurisdiction. A joint resolution also requires approval in both chambers and goes to the president for approval. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the president.

Roll-Call Vote
Senators vote as their names are called by the clerk. Representatives electronically record their votes. Each House member has a card to insert at voting stations and a running count of votes is displayed. Roll-call votes and recorded teller votes are the only votes of which a public record is made.
S

Sine Die
A Latin phrase that means "without a day" set to reconvene. The Constitution of the State of Michigan of 1963 requires that the Legislature adjourn sine die as the final adjournment each year of a regular session.

Speaker
Speaker of the House of Representatives. Presides over the House. Elected, in effect, by the majority party in the House. Next in line of succession to the presidency after the vice president.

Standing Vote
Proponents and opponents are asked to stand in turn (also called division vote). Votes of individuals are not recorded.

Suspend the Rules
A motion in the House intended to quickly bring a bill to a vote.
T

Table a Bill
A motion to, in effect, put a bill aside and thereby remove it from consideration or kill it.

Tie-bar
A device to condition the effectiveness of legislation on the enactment or passage of other specified legislation.
V

Veto
Disapproval by the president of a bill or joint resolution (other than one proposing an amendment to the Constitution). When Congress is in session, the president must veto a bill within 10 days, excluding Sundays, of receiving it; otherwise, the bill becomes law without the president's signature.
W

Whip
A legislator who is chosen to be assistant to the leader of the party in both the House and Senate.