Glossary of Legislative Terms



AMENDMENT -  Proposal to change the language of a bill after

it has been introduced; can be offered in committee or on

the floor. 



APPROPRIATION -  The amount of money that must be budgeted

to pay for the activity or program described in the bill.  A

bill with an appropriation must be reviewed by the

Appropriations Committee in the House and the Ways and Means

Committee in the Senate as well as a subject matter

committee.



BILL -  A proposal to change the laws of the state,

introduced in either the House or the Senate.  Also a

generic way to refer to any type of legislation.



BILL REPORT -  A description of a bill prepared by

committee staff.  Includes the legislative history,

background, summary, and testimony in committee.



CAUCUS - Both houses often recess for "caucus," which is a

meeting of the members of that house who belong to the same

political party.  Caucuses are called to discuss the party's

position on a bill or an amendment.  "Caucus" also refers to

the permanent staff, administrative aides, and

administrative assistants who support the members of a

particular party.  Hence, there are four caucuses the House

Democratic Caucus, the House Republican Caucus, the Senate

Democratic Caucus, and the Senate Republican Caucus.



CHAMBER - The place in which the House or Senate meets. 

Also a generic way to refer to the House or Senate.



CHAPTER -  Once the Governor has signed a bill, it is sent

to the Secretary of State who assigns a chapter number, such

as Chapter 35 of the Laws of 1995.  Between the time the

chapter number is assigned and the time the bill is

incorporated into the Revised Code of Washington, the

session law is the law of the state.



CHIEF CLERK OF THE HOUSE - The chief administrative officer

of the House, responsible for the day-to-day operations of

the House.



CODE REVISER'S OFFICE - The central drafting agency of the

Legislature and the organization responsible for the

publication of the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) and the

Washington Administrative Code (WAC).  Often referred to as

the Statute Law Committee.



COMMITTEE - Before a bill is considered by the entire body,

it is considered by a committee.  Committees are usually

organized by subject, e.g., Agriculture, Education,

Transportation.  Committees make recommendations to the

entire body as to what action to take on the bill.



CONCURRENCE -  If the second house has amended the bill

(e.g., the Senate has amended a House bill), the first house

can vote to accept, or concur in, those amendments.



CONCURRENT RESOLUTION - A type of bill that affects the

business of the Legislature and that must be approved by

both houses.  For example, the bill that establishes the

cutoff dates is a concurrent resolution.



CONFERENCE COMMITTEE - If the first house disputes the

amendments from the second house and the houses cannot

resolve their differences, either house can request a

conference committee.  The committee is made of members from

both houses.  They meet to reach some agreement and, having

come to such an agreement, offer a conference committee

report to both houses.  The report must be adopted by both

houses for  the bill to pass the Legislature.



CONSENT CALENDAR - The Senate Rules Committee reviews the

bills that are eligible for second reading.  The Senate

Rules Committee may place noncontroversial bills on the

consent calendar, to be passed by the Senate all in one

action.  The equivalent calendar in the House is called the

suspension calendar.



CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT - The Legislature may propose a

change to the State Constitution by means of a joint

resolution.  If the joint resolution passes the Legislature,

it is placed on the ballot to be voted upon by the people.



COSPONSOR - Several members may sponsor any one bill. 

Sponsors other than the primary sponsor (the member whose

name appears first) are referred to as cosponsors.



DIGEST - The summary of the bill prepared by the Code

Reviser's Office.  Digests appear in the Daily Digest

Supplement and the Digest and Histories Edition.



ENGROSSED BILL - The version of the bill that has had the

adopted committee and floor amendments worked into it. 

Bills are engrossed before they go to the second house.



ENROLLED BILL - Once a bill has finally passed the

Legislature, it is enrolled.  A certificate proclaiming that

it has passed is attached and, if necessary, the amendments

from the second house or conference committee are

incorporated into the body of the bill.  The bill is signed

by the Chief Clerk of the House, the Speaker of the House,

the Secretary of the Senate, and the President of the

Senate, then is sent to the governor for his or her action.



EXTRAORDINARY SESSION - The State Constitution mandates

regular sessions.  Under "extraordinary" circumstances, the

governor can call the Legislature into session by

proclamation.  The Legislature can address only those

matters listed in the proclamation.  Extraordinary sessions

can last no more than 30 days.  Also called special

sessions.



FIRST READING - Each bill must be read on the rostrum three

times before final passage.  In Washington, first reading

takes place when the bill is introduced.  The reading clerk

will begin to read the bill, then the presiding officer will

say "last line."



FISCAL COMMITTEE - A committee that reviews state financial

matters, i.e., appropriation and revenue matters, is a

fiscal committee.  In the House, the fiscal committees are

Appropriations, Capital Budget, and Revenue.  In the Senate,

Ways and Means is the fiscal committee.  If a bill requires

an appropriation (that is, an expenditure of state funds),

it must be reviewed by the Appropriations and Ways and Means

committees.  If a bill proposes to raise revenue (i.e., fees

or taxes), it must be reviewed by the Revenue and Ways and

Means committees.



FLOOR - Can refer to the House and Senate chambers.  More

generally, when a bill is before the entire house (as

opposed to a committee), it is said to be on the floor. 

Also, when a house is in session, its members are said to be

on the floor.



HEARING - A committee meeting at which the members discuss a

bill and take testimony on the merits of the bill or discuss

some other issue of interest.   Committees may hold three

types of hearings:  (1) work session, at which the main

issues will be outlined or members will ask questions; (2)

public hearing, at which members of the public may offer

testimony in favor of or against the matter being discussed;

and (3) executive session, at which the members will decide

how they want to report the matter at hand by a roll call

vote.



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES - One of the two houses of the

Washington State Legislature.  Sometimes referred to as the

"House" or the "lower chamber."  Each of the 49 legislative

districts is represented by two House members, for a total

of 98 members.  Members of the House serve two-year terms.



INITIATIVE - The people can propose legislation by means of

an Initiative to the Legislature or an Initiative to the

People.  An initiative must be filed with the Secretary of

State.  Initiatives to the People must also be circulated in

petition and the petition signed by 8 per cent of the votes

cast for governor at the immediately preceding gubernatorial

election.  Initiatives to the Legislature are considered

during session and cannot be amended by the Legislature.  If

the Legislature passes the initiative, it is considered

enacted unless the Legislature has referred it to the

people, in which case it is placed on the ballot.

Initiatives to the People are placed on the ballot for

approval or rejection by the electorate.



INTERIM - The period between adjournment sine die

(adjournment of the session for the year) of one session and

the beginning of another.  Special sessions notwithstanding,

the legislative session generally ends the last week in

April in odd-numbered years and the second week in March in

even-numbered years.



INTRODUCTION - When a member decides to offer a piece of

legislation and gives it to the chief administrative officer

to be read on the rostrum, the bill is said to be

introduced.  Also referred to as "first reading."



JOINT MEMORIAL - A legislative measure that expresses the

Legislature's opinion and is sent to Congress or the

President of the United States.  Must be adopted by both

houses, but does not require the governor's signature.



JOINT RESOLUTION - A legislative proposal to amend the state

constitution.  Must be adopted by 2/3 vote in each house,

then passed by vote of the people at the following general

election.



OFFICE OF PROGRAM RESEARCH - The organization within the

House that supports the House standing committees.



PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE - The Lieutenant Governor is the

presiding officer of the Senate.  Senate membership also

elects a president pro tempore who sits in the chair in the

Lieutenant Governor's absence.



READING - Each bill must be read on the rostrum three times

before final passage.  In Washington, first reading takes

place when the bill is introduced.  The reading clerk will

begin to read the bill, then the presiding officer will say

"last line."  Second reading takes place when the bill has

been reported by standing committee and is placed on the

calendar by the Rules Committee.  It is at second reading

that the bills are debated and amendments are offered. 

Third reading takes place when the bill is before the

chamber for final passage.



REGULAR SESSION - The State Constitution mandates regular

sessions, which last 105 days in the odd-numbered year and

60 days in the even-numbered year.  During regular sessions,

any matter of interest to the Legislature can be considered.



REQUESTER - Someone other than a member of the Legislature,

for instance, the governor or an executive agency of state

government, can request legislation.  When that is the case,

the requester will appear at the end of the list of sponsors

in the heading of the bill.



RESOLUTION - A legislative measure that states the opinion

of the house in which it is offered.  Usually, resolutions

congratulate individuals or groups or mourn the passing of

an individual.  For instance, the House adopted a resolution

to congratulate Mark Rypien on his performance in the 1993

Super Bowl; the Senate adopted a resolution to mourn the

passing of State Senator A. R. "Slim" Rasmussen.



ROLL CALL - When a bill is up for final passage, a roll call

vote is taken.  In the House, this is accomplished by means

of an electronic roll call machine; in the Senate, the

reading clerk calls the roll and each Senator states how

he/she wishes to vote.  Roll calls are also taken on certain

motions, on amendments when requested by a member and

one-sixth of the members present agree, and at the start of

each session to determine the presence of a quorum.



SCOPE AND OBJECT - A member may ask the presiding officer to

rule on whether an amendment is within the scope and object

of the bill.  The determining factor is the language in the

title of the bill.



SECOND READING - Each bill must be read on the rostrum three

times before final passage.  In Washington, the second

reading takes place when a bill has been placed on the

calendar and is up for debate on the floor.



SECTION - The body of a bill is divided into sections.  Each

section notes which section of the Revised Code of

Washington (RCW) is being amended by the bill or indicates

that this will be a new section.  Changes to the existing

RCW section are noted by double parentheses and

strikethrough for language that will be stricken and by

underlining for language that will be added.



SECRETARY OF THE SENATE - The chief administrative officer

of the Senate, responsible for the day-to-day operations of

the Senate.



SENATE - One of the two houses of the Washington State

Legislature.  Sometimes referred to as the "upper chamber."

Each of the 49 legislative districts is represented by one

Senator.  Senators serve four-year terms; half the Senate is

up for election every two years, so the terms are staggered.



SENATE COMMITTEE SERVICES - The organization within the

Senate that supports the Senate standing committees.



SESSION - Can refer to the daily meeting of the Legislature

or to the entire period during which the Legislature is

convened.  The State Constitution mandates regular sessions,

which last 105 days in the odd-numbered year and 60 days in

the even-numbered year.  Under "extraordinary"

circumstances, the governor can call the Legislature into

session by proclamation.  The Legislature can address only

those matters listed in the proclamation.  Extraordinary

sessions can last no more than 30 days.  Also called special

sessions.



SESSION LAW - When a bill has been signed by the Governor,

it is sent to the Secretary of State who assigns a chapter

number, e.g., Chapter 333 of the Laws of 1995.  Between the

time that it receives the chapter number and the time when

the effects of the bill are incorporated into the Revised

Code of Washington, the bill is referred to as "session law"

and is the law of the state.



SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE - The presiding officer of the House as

elected by the membership of the House.



SPONSOR - A member who introduces legislation and whose name

appears on the bill is the sponsor.



SUBSTITUTE - When a committee rolls all the amendments

adopted in committee into a new version of the bill, it

reports the bill out as a substitute.  A committee in the

second house cannot report a bill out as a substitute.  The

entire body then deliberates on whether to adopt the

substitute or not.  If the substitute is adopted, it is that

version of the bill that moves through the rest of the

legislative process.



SUSPENSION CALENDAR - The House Rules Committee reviews the

bills that are eligible for second reading.  The House Rules

Committee may place noncontroversial bills on the suspension

calendar, to be passed by the House all in one action.  The

equivalent calendar in the Senate is called the consent

calendar



THIRD READING - Each bill must be read on the rostrum three

times before final passage.  In Washington, the third

reading takes place when a bill is up for final passage.



TITLE - The part of the bill that briefly describes the

effect of the bill and the sections of the RCW that it

affects is called the title.  It always begins with the

words "AN ACT relating to."  Amendments must be in the scope

and object of the title, that is, they must be germane to

the bill as introduced.



VETO - The governor indicates his/her disapproval of a bill

or a section of a bill by applying a veto.  In Washington,

the governor can veto an entire bill, a section of a bill,

or a line item in a budget bill.  It takes 2/3 vote in both

houses to override a governor's veto.