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~Glossary of Legislative Terms~
- Amendment
- Formal proposal to change the language of a bill after it has been
introduced.
- Appropriation
- The amount of money set aside for a specific propose and designated
from a specific source such as the General Fund, Environmental License
Plate Fund, etc.
- Approved by the Governor
- Signature of the Governor on a bill passed by the Legislature.
- Assembly
- The lower house of the California Legislature, consisting of 80
members, elected from districts apportioned on the basis of population,
who serve two-year terms.
- Bill
- A proposed law introduced in the Assembly or Senate and identified
with a number.
- Bill Analysis
- A document that must be prepared by committee staff prior to
hearing the bill in committee. It explains how a bill would change
current law and sometimes mentions support and opposition from major
interest groups.
- Chamber
- The Assembly or Senate chamber where Floor Sessions are held.
- Chapter
- After a bill has been signed by the Governor, the Secretary of
State assigns the bill a Chapter Number, such as Chapter 1235, Statutes
of 1993, which is subsequently used to refer to the measure rather than
the bill number.
- Coauthor
- Any member of either house, with the agreement of the author of a
bill, may add his or her name on that member's bill as coauthor, usually
indicating support for the proposal.
- Codes
- Bound volumes of law organized by subject matter. The code to be
changed by a bill is referred to at the top of the bill.
- Concurrence
- One house approving a bill as amended in the other house. If the
author is unwilling to move the bill as amended by the other house, the
author requests nonconcurrence in the bill and asks for the information
of a conference committee.
- Concurrent Resolution
- A measure introduced in one house which, if approved, must be sent
to the other house for approval. The Governor's signature is not
required. These measures usually involve the business of the
Legislature.
- Conference Committee
- Usually composed of three legislators (two from the majority party;
one from the minority party) from each house who meet in public session
to forge one version of similar Senate and Assembly bills. The final
conference committee version must be approved by both Assembly and
Senate. Assembly conferences are chosen by the Speaker; Senate
conferences are chosen by the Senate Rules Committee.
- Consent Calendar
- A group of noncontroversial bills passed by a committee or the full
Assembly or Senate on one vote.
- Constituent
- Citizen residing within the district of a legislator.
- Constitutional Amendment
- A resolution affecting the Constitution, adopted by the Legislature
or presented by initiative, requiring an affirmative vote of the
electorate to become effective.
- Daily File
- Publication produced by the Assembly and Senate respectively for
each day those houses are in session. The publication provides
information about bills to be considered at upcoming committee hearings
and bills eligible for consideration during the next scheduled Floor
Session. Pursuant to Jt. Rule 62(a), any bill to be heard in committee
must be noticed in the Daily file for four days, including weekend days.
The Daily File also contains useful information about committee
assignments and the legislative calendar.
- Daily History
- Produced by the Assembly and Senate respectively the day after each
house has met. The History lists specific actions taken on legislation.
Any measure acted upon in that house the previous day is listed in
numerical order.
- Daily Journal
- Produced by the Assembly and Senate respectively the day after a
Floor Session. Contains roll call votes on bills heard in policy
committees and bills considered on the floor and other official action
taken by the body. Any official messages from the Governor are also
included. A Member may seek approval to publish a letter in the Journal
on a specific legislative matter.
- Do Pass
- The affirmative recommendation made by a committee in sending a
bill to the floor for final vote; do pass as amended - passage
recommended providing certain changes are made.
- Enacting Clause
- By statutory provision, each proposed law must be preceded by the
phrase the People of the State of California do enact as follows.
- Enrolled Bill
- Whenever a bill passes both houses of the Legislature, it is
ordered enrolled. In enrollment, the bill is again proofread for
accuracy and then delivered to the Governor. The enrolled bill contains
the complete text of the bill with the dates of passage certified by the
Secretary of State and the Chief Clerk of the Assembly.
- Extraordinary Session
- A special legislative session called by the Governor to address
only those issues specified in the proclamation. Measures introduced in
these sessions are numbered chronologically with a lower case x after
the number (i.e.,28x); they take effect immediately upon being signed by
the Governor.
- First Reading
- Each bill introduced must be read three times before the final
passage. The first reading of a bill occurs when the measure is
introduced.
- Fiscal Committee
- The Ways and Means Committee in the Assembly and the Appropriations
Committee in the Senate to which all fiscal bills are referred if they
are approved by policy committees. If the fiscal committee approves a
bill, it then moves to the floor.
- Floor
- The Assembly or Senate chambers.
- Hearing
- A committee meeting convened for the purpose of gathering
information on a specific subject or considering specific legislative
measures.
- Inactive File
- The portion of the Daily File containing legislation that is ready
for floor consideration, but, for a variety of reasons, is dead or
dormant. An author may move a bill to the inactive file and subsequently
move it off the inactive file at a later date. During the final weeks of
the legislative session, measures may be moved there by the leadership
as a method of encouraging authors to take up their bills promptly.
- Initiative
- A method of legislating that requires a vote of the people instead
of a vote of the legislature for a measure to become law.
- To qualify for a statewide ballot, statutory initiatives must
receive 384,974 signatures and constitutional amendment initiatives must
receive 615,958 signatures.
- Interim
- The period of time between the end of the legislative year and the
beginning of he next legislative year. The legislative year ends on
August 31 in even-numbered years and September 15 in odd-numbered years.
- Item Veto
- The Governor's refusal to approve a portion or item of a bill;
however, the remainder of the bill is approved.
- Joint Resolution
- Expresses an opinion about an issue pertaining to the federal
government; forwarded to Congress for its information. Requires the
approval of both Assembly and Senate but does not require the signature
of the Governor to take effect.
- Law
- Rule of conduct determined by the people through their elected
representatives, or by direct vote.
- Legislative Counsel's Digest
- The digest is a brief summary of the changes the proposed bill
would make to current law. The digest is found on the front of each
printed bill.
- On File
- A bill on the second or third reading file of the Assembly or
Senate Daily File.
- Policy Committee
- Each house of the legislature has a number of committees referred to as
"policy" committees. As bills are introduced in each house the Rules
committee assigns each to a policy committee. The policy committee sets
up public hearings on the bills, conducts hearings and following such
testimony, votes on whether or not to recommend passage of the bill to the
floor of the respective house. Other actions a policy committee may take
include amending a bill and re-referring it to the same or another committee
for additional hearings.
- President of the Senate
- The State Constitution designates the Lieutenant Governor as
President of the Senate, allowing him to preside over the Senate and
cast a vote only in the event of a 20-20 tie. The Lt.
- Governor s role is largely ceremonial because he has not cast a tie
breaking vote since 1975 and, in practice, does not preside over the
Senate.
- Reading
- Presentation of a bill before either house by the reading of the
title thereof; a stage in the enactment of a measure. A bill, until
passed, is either in process of first, second or third reading, no
matter how many times it has actually been read.
- Resolution
- An opinion expressed by one or both houses which does not have the
force of law. Concurrent resolutions are voted on by both houses but do
not require the Governor s signature; joint resolutions are voted on by
both houses.
- Roll Call
- A vote of a committee or the full Assembly or Senate. Committee
roll calls are conducted by the committee secretary who calls each
member's name in alphabetical order with the Chair's name last. Assembly
roll calls are conducted electronically with each member pushing a
button from his/her assigned seat. Senate roll calls are conducted by
the Reading Clerk who reads each Senator's name in alphabetical order.
- Second Reading
- Each bill introduced must be read three times before final passage.
Second reading occurs after a bill has been reported from committee.
- Section
- Portion of the codes, cited in each bill which proposes to amend,
create, or replace same.
- Senate
- The upper house of the California Legislature, consisting of 40
members elected from districts apportioned on the basis of population,
one-half of whom are elected or re- elected every two years for
four-year terms.
- Session
- Period during which the Legislature meets: Regular - the biennial
session at which all classes of legislation may be considered;
Extraordinary - special session, called by, and limited to matters
specified by the Governor; Daily - each day's meeting; Joint - meeting
of the two houses together.
- Speaker
- Highest ranking member of the Assembly; elected by all
Assemblymembers at the beginning of each two-year legislative session.
- Statutes
- Compilation of all enacted bills, chaptered by the Secretary of
State in the order in which they became law, and prepared in book form
by the State Printer.
- Third Reading
- Each bill introduced must be read three times before final passage.
Third reading occurs when the measure is about to be taken up on the
floor of either house for final passage.
- Third Reading Analysis
- A summary of a measure ready for floor consideration. Contains most
recent amendments and information regarding how members voted on the
measure when it was heard in committees. Senate floor analyses also list
support or opposition information on interest groups and government
agencies.
- Title
- A brief italicized paragraph, identifying the subject matter and
preceding the contents of a measure.
- Unfinished Business
- That portion of the Daily File that contains measures awaiting
Senate or Assembly concurrence in amendments taken in the other house.
Also contains measures vetoed by the Governor for a 60-day period after
the veto. the house where the vetoed bill originated has 60 days to
attempt to override.
- Urgency Clause
- A bill which contains an urgency clause takes effect upon the
Governor's signature. A vote on the urgency clause must precede a vote
on the bill and requires a 2/3 vote for passage.
- Veto
- The Governor's refusal to approve a measure sent to him by the
Legislature.
- Vote
- There are two categories of votes: majority and two-thirds.
Majority Vote: A vote of more than half of the legislative
body considering a measure. The full Assembly requires a majority vote of
41 and the full Senate requires 21, based on their memberships of 80 and 40
respectively.
Two-Thirds (2/3): A vote of at least 2/3 of the legislative
body considering a measure. The full Assembly requires a 2/3 vote of
54 and the full Senate requires 27, based on their memberships of 80 and 40
respectively.
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