Act | A bill passed by both houses and signed by the Governor |
Action | Any step of parliamentary procedure upon a proposed law or resolution |
Adjournment | The ending of a legislative day; regular adjournment sets the date for the next meeting |
| Ad Valorem Tax Reduction | Click here for full definition. |
Amend | To alter formally by modification, deletion, or addition |
Apportionment | A division of the state into districts from which members of the Legislature are elected |
Appropriation | A legislative grant of money for a specific purpose |
Attaché | An employee of the Senate or the House |
Authorized Expenditures Act | An omnibus act authorizing and limiting, except under certain conditions, the expenditure of special or dedicated revenues for government departments and programs |
Bicameral legislature | A two-house legislature |
Bill | A draft of a proposed law presented for enactment |
Bond | A certificate of indebtedness issued by the government in return for money it has borrowed |
Budget | Estimate of the receipts and expenditures needed to carry out programs for a fiscal period |
By request | Introduction of a measure by a legislator on behalf of a private individual or group |
Calendar | List or docket of bills awaiting action, entered in order reported |
Calendar day | Each consecutive day on the calendar for the duration of the legislative session, whether or not the houses convene |
Caucus | Conference of legislative party members to decide on party policies and action, or a meeting of the legislators from a particular county or group of counties |
Closing budgets | The process whereby final action is taken by the money committees on individual budgets |
Conference committee | A joint meeting of a committee on conference from each of the two houses whose function is to arrive at a single version of a bill that has passed both houses in different form. Click here for more. |
Consent calendar | A list of bills, of a non-controversial nature, which is voted on as a single roll call vote instead of roll calls on each bill on the list |
Constitution | The written instrument agreed upon by the people of the United States, or of a particular state, as the absolute rule of action and decision for the government |
Engrossment | The preparation of a bill or resolution for third reading including the incorporation of all amendments adopted and proofreading |
Enrollment | The final printing of a bill or resolution after enactment by both houses |
Executive Budget | Program of expected revenues and proposed expenditures comparing current, future, and past completed years for existing programs, and projecting revenues and expenditures of new programs for future years; The Executive Budget is proposed by the Governor and the Budget Administrator of the Budget Division of the Department of Administration |
Ex officio | Holding two offices; holding another office by virtue of or because of the holding of the first office |
Expunge | To delete or remove completely |
First Reading | Introduction of a bill in either house of the Legislature by giving it a number and reading it before the full house by title before it is referred by the presiding officer to the appropriate committee |
Fiscal note | Analysis required by statute to be prepared by an executive agency estimating revenue or expenditure changes that would be entailed by the passage of a proposed bill. The Fiscal Analysis Division of the Legislative Counsel Bureau prepares this estimate to accompany any bill that reduces the revenue or increases the expenditures of a local government |
Floor | Recognition by the Chair for the purpose of discussion, debate, or remarks while a house is in session |
General File | The third reading file of bills and joint resolutions due for consideration in the houses |
General law | A law of general, or potentially general, application throughout the state |
Grandfather clause | A provision in a bill making it inapplicable to activities or personnel involved prior to the enactment of new legislation |
Hearing | A session of a legislative committee at which witnesses present testimony on matters under consideration by the committee |
| High growth formula | Click here for full definition. |
History | A cumulative daily list of actions on all measures in the houses |
Impeachment | A formal accusation against a public official by the House; After the House has impeached, the Senate tries the official |
Initiative | A procedure that enables a specified number of voters to propose, by petition, a law or constitutional amendment, and to secure its submission to the electorate for approval |
Interim | The period from the adjournment sine die of one regular legislative session to the convening of the next regular session |
Introduction | The presentation of a bill or resolution for consideration by a house |
Journal | Record of daily proceedings in the houses |
Law | Bill passed by both houses and approved by the Governor, or, if vetoed by the Governor, the veto overridden by a two-thirds vote of each house |
Leadership | Includes the presiding officers of both houses (President of the Senate and President pro Tempore; Speaker of the House and Speaker pro Tempore) and the floor leaders of both houses (Majority and Minority Leaders, Assistant Majority Leaders, and Assistant Minority Leaders) |
Legislative day | Each day that the houses actually convene; These do not necessarily coincide in number with calendar days |
Legislative rules | The methods of procedure determined by the Legislature at the beginning of a session |
Lobbyist | A representative of a special interest who attends sessions to oppose or support the enactment of legislation |
Majority Floor Leader | A member of either house chosen by the members of the majority party in that house as their spokesman |
| Maintenance of Effort | Requires that an entity continue to “do its fair share” in providing funding to an agency under its jurisdiction in order to be eligible for financial assistance for that agency from another entity. Click here for more. |
Minority Floor Leader | A member of either house chosen by the members of the minority party in that house as their spokesman |
| Motion to Reconsider | A motion that places the bill back on the calendar where it cannot move forward until the chamber again takes it up on the floor for additional debate. This provides an opportunity for members to change their votes on the bill. Click here for more. |
Preamble | The introductory part of a bill or resolution that states the reasons for and intent of the measure |
President of the Senate | Lieutenant Governor as presiding officer of the Senate |
President pro Tempore | A Senator chosen by the Senate to preside in the absence of the President |
Presiding officer | The person in each house who chairs the conduct of business before the body and guides and directs the proceedings of the body |
Quorum | The number of members of a house or of a committee who must be present for the body to conduct official business |
Recall | Requesting the return of a measure from the Governor or the other house by a resolution |
Recede | Withdraw from an amendment in which the other house refused to concur |
Refer | Send a measure to a committee for study and consideration |
Referendum | The principle or practice of submitting a law to popular vote after the filing of a petition expressing the wish of the people to vote on such law |
Regular Session | Period during which the Mississippi Legislature meets annually |
Resolutions | A one-house resolution expresses facts, principles, opinions, and purposes of one house .A concurrent resolution expresses facts, principles, opinions, and purposes of the two houses and authorizes the creation of joint committees. A joint resolution memorializes federal officials to engage in an action, proposes amendments to the Mississippi Constitution, or ratifies amendments to theUnited States Constitution |
Roll call | Recording of the presence of members or a tally by individual votes on a bill or joint resolution |
Second Reading | When a bill, after it has been reported from committee, is read for the second time before the full house; Committee amendments or amendments from the floor are adopted or rejected by simple majority vote of the members present and voting |
Second Reading File | File of bills for second reading and consideration of amendments in the house. |
Senate | One of the chambers in a bicameral legislature |
Seniority | Length of legislative service, Seniority is often used to assign committee positions and political rank |
Sine Die | Final adjournment of a legislative session (See “Adjournment.”) Adjournment sine die literally means “adjournment without a day”; it marks the end of the legislative session, since it does not set a time for reconvening |
Speaker of the House | The presiding officer of the House of Representatives |
Speaker pro Tempore | A member of the House chosen by the House to preside in the absence of the Speaker |
Special law | A law of local or limited application |
Special Session | A meeting of the Legislature convened on the call of the Governor and restricted to the subjects stated in the Governor’s call |
Sponsor | The legislator(s), legislative committee, or entity requesting that a bill or resolution be drafted |
Standing committee | A committee of either the Senate or House of Representatives that is created by legislative rule and is responsible for considering legislation in a certain subject area |
Statute | Bill passed by both houses and approved by the Governor, or, if vetoed by the Governor, the veto overridden by a two-thirds vote of each house |
| Strike-all | Amendment that strikes, or removes, all of the language in a bill and replaces it with new language. Click here for more |
Summary | A brief and unofficial resume of the contents of a bill or resolution |
Third Reading | When the bill, reprinted with any adopted amendments, is debated by the full house on another day after the second reading. It may be passed, rejected, or further amended, in which case final action on the newly amended version is taken on a later day. If the bill is passed, it is sent to the other house; it is sent to the Governor if passed in identical form by both houses |
Title | An official summary of the contents of a bill or resolution |
Veto | Governor’s formal disapproval of a bill or joint resolution |
Modified from original version on the Nevada Legislature Website
