Reference

Glossary from real examples

Each term is defined from the rule that creates it and shown in a real record, so the jargon arrives only when a reader needs it.

Referral

The presiding officer's assignment of a measure to a committee after first reading. The Speaker and the President each have seven calendar days (five in the 2026 House) and may add a second committee, or a fiscal committee if the bill spends money.[1][2][3]

In the record: HB 2017 had its first reading on March 1, 2017 and was referred to the Joint Committee on Transportation Preservation and Modernization on March 3. See it

Public hearing versus work session

A public hearing takes testimony on a measure. A work session is where the committee votes on amendments and on whether to send the measure to the floor. An informational meeting takes testimony on an issue but cannot act on a measure.[2][1][3]

In the record: The transportation committee held an informational meeting on May 31, 2017, public hearings on June 5, 6, and 7, and its work session on July 1, when it adopted the -10 amendment 12 to 2. See it

Engrossed bill

A bill reprinted with adopted amendments. The A-Engrossed version follows the first adopted amendment, B-Engrossed the second, and so on. The enrolled bill is the final text sent to the governor.[3]

In the record: The 23-line introduced HB 2017 became the 7,800-line A-Engrossed bill after the committee adopted its -10 amendment; the enrolled bill was signed on August 18, 2017. See it

Placeholder bill

A bill introduced with minimal text, often a study directive, so that a committee can later replace it entirely with a negotiated package by amendment. Chamber rules require only that amendments be germane to the bill's relating-to clause and be posted before action.[1][3]

In the record: HB 2017 was introduced on March 1, 2017 directing the Department of Transportation to study the transportation system and report by 2019; the July 1 amendment replaced every operative line. See it

Quorum

The number of members who must be present for a chamber to do business: forty in the House and twenty in the Senate, two-thirds of each. Fewer members may only adjourn day to day and compel attendance.[1][2][4][5]

In the record: From May 3 to June 14, 2023, the Senate lacked a quorum for 43 consecutive calendar days; it resumed business on June 15. See it

Call of the House (or Senate)

A procedure that closes the chamber, stops other business, and sends the Sergeant at Arms for absent members until the pending vote is taken or the call is lifted (forty votes in the House, twenty in the Senate).[1][2]

In the record: Six representatives or three senators can demand it before a roll call begins; the House rules say no excuse may be announced while the House is under a call.

Constitutional majority

A majority of all members elected, not of those present: thirty-one in the House and sixteen in the Senate. It is what a bill needs to pass. Revenue-raising bills need three-fifths, thirty-six and eighteen.[2][1][4][6]

In the record: HB 3601 (2013), a corporate tax bill, passed the House 36 to 19 and the Senate 18 to 10, exactly the three-fifths thresholds. See it

Suspension of the rules

A two-thirds vote (forty in the House, twenty in the Senate) that sets aside a chamber rule, most often the waiting period between readings so a bill can be read a third time and passed the same day.[2][1][3]

In the record: On July 6, 2017 the Senate suspended its rules twice for HB 2017, for second reading and for third reading, and passed the bill the day it arrived from the House. See it

Emergency clause

A section declaring an emergency so that an act takes effect on signing rather than ninety days after adjournment; it also removes the ordinary referendum route. The constitution forbids it on acts regulating taxation.[4][6]

In the record: Chapters 1 to 4 of the 2013 special session carried emergency clauses and took effect October 8, 2013; HB 3601, the tax bill, could not and took effect January 1, 2014. See it

Minority report

An alternative committee report signed by at least two dissenting members present when the committee acted. On the floor, the carrier may move to substitute it for the committee report before the bill is read a third time. It is not allowed in joint committees.[1][2]

In the record: The rules give a House member two hours after a committee meeting to give notice and until 5 p.m. of the second business day to deliver the report with a Legislative Counsel draft.

Concurrence

The vote in the originating chamber to accept the other chamber's amendments and repass the bill. If it refuses, a conference committee of both chambers can propose a settlement within the issue between the houses.[2][1][7]

In the record: On September 27, 2021 the Senate concurred in the House amendments to SB 881 and repassed the congressional map 18 to 6. See it

Fiscal and revenue impact statements

Estimates by the Legislative Fiscal Officer and the Legislative Revenue Officer of what a measure would cost or raise, prepared when a committee schedules a work session and attached to the committee report. They are estimates before enactment, not records of what was spent.[1][8]

In the record: The Legislative Fiscal Office issued its fiscal impact statement for HB 2017 A in July 2017; the Revenue Office's statement covers the transportation revenue area. See it

Subsequent referral

A second committee assignment that takes effect when the first committee reports the bill out, typically to Ways and Means for money bills. It is a second place a bill can stop.[1][2]

In the record: HB 2002 (2023) was referred to Behavioral Health and Health Care with a subsequent referral to Ways and Means; both committees voted before the House floor did. See it

Withdrawing a bill from committee

A floor motion that takes a bill away from a committee that has not acted: thirty-one votes in the House, sixteen in the Senate. It is the members' check on a chair who will not schedule a bill.[1][2]

In the record: The rule exists in both chambers; a documented use in the benchmark cases has not yet been identified.

Organizational session

The sitting on the second Monday of January in odd years where members are credentialed and sworn, and each chamber elects its presiding officer, pro tempore officer, and chief clerk or secretary.[2][1][8]

In the record: The 83rd Legislative Assembly organized on January 13, 2025 and adopted the House and Senate rules cited throughout this site.

Caucus

The members of one party in one chamber. Each caucus elects its leader, who runs a caucus office of policy analysts and communications staff; the majority and minority offices are funded through the legislative budget.[8][2]

In the record: The four caucus leaders are elected by their members, not by the chamber, and the rules give each caucus two late drafting requests in the Senate.