Glossary of Legislative Terms

Act--a bill passed by the legislature.
Adjournment--termination of a meeting; occurs at the close of each legislative day upon completion of business, with the hour and day of the next meeting set prior to adjournment.
Adoption--approval or acceptance; usually applied to amendments or resolutions.
Amendment--a change in the language of a bill.
Apportionment--division of the state into districts from which legislators are elected.
Appropriation--money set apart by formal action for a specific use.
Bicameral--a legislature consisting of two chambers. The house and the senate are the two chambers.
Bill--a proposed law introduced during a session for consideration by the legislature.
Calendar--the daily schedule which determines the order in which bills are taken up for consideration by the legislature..
Capital--a town or city that is the official seat of government in a political entity.
Capitol--a state house. The building where the legislature meets.
Caucus--a meeting of the members of one political party.
Chamber--the house and senate make up the two chambers of the legislature, also refers to the room where each meets.
Committees--groups of legislators in each of the houses which take public testimony and vote on bills usually on related subjects.
Conference Committee--committee comprised of members from each house. It is appointed to reach a compromise on a bill which has passed both houses, but in different forms.
Constituent--citizen residing within the district of a legislator.
Constitution--the fundamental law of the state. Amendments to the constitution are proposed by joint resolution and must be approved by a vote of the people.
District--the geographic division of the state represented by a legislator.
Draft--any piece of written legislation, at whatever stage of preparation, that has not yet been introduced as a bill.
Floor--a traditional description of the interior of either house; "floor action" describes the consideration of measures by the entire membership of the respective chamber.
General Assembly--the formal name of the legislature.
House--the 150 member house of representatives
Impeachment--a procedure to remove from office public officials accused of misconduct.
Introduce--present a bill to either the senate or house of representatives for consideration. Senators introduce senate bills and representatives introduce house bills.
Joint Session--a session in which the senate and house of representatives meet together as they do every year to hear the Governor's State-of-the-State Address.
Journal--the official record of the proceedings of the respective houses; printed daily in pamphlet form and published on-line and subsequently certified, indexed, and bound at the close of each session.
Legislature--the house and the senate.
Lobbyist--an individual engaged to present and promote the views of a group, organization, or industry on measures under consideration by legislators.
Majority Leader--the leader of the caucus of the majority party.
Majority Party--the political party in each house which has the most members.
Minority Leader--the leader of the caucus of the minority party.
Minority Party--the political party in each house which has fewer members than the majority party.
Minutes--an official record of the proceedings of a meeting.
Motion--a formal suggestion offered while the legislature is in session.
Passage--favorable action on a measure before the legislature.
President Of The Senate--the presiding officer in the senate. As stipulated in the state constitution, this is the Lieutenant Governor.
President Pro Tempore--the senator elected to preside over the senate in the absence of the President of the Senate.
Procedure--the rules and traditional practices of the legislature.
Ratify--to give formal approval and acceptance to.
Reapportionment--a redistricting of the state for election purposes.
Recess--a temporary pause in the proceedings.
Representative--one of the 150 elected members of the house
Rules--the methods of procedure determined by the legislature at the beginning of a session.
Senator--one of the 30 elected members of the senate.
Sergeant-at-Arms--Officer of the legislature charged with maintaining order and carrying out the directives of the presiding officers or the members.
Session--period during which the legislature meets.
Speaker--presiding officer of the house of representatives, elected by the members at the beginning of each session.
Special Sessions--sessions held between the regular sessions.
Unicameral--consisting of a single legislative chamber.
Veto-- to cancel or make void


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