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FROM THE COVER
Legislative Lingo
AMENDMENT An alteration made , or proposed to be made , to a bill or resolution by adding , changing , substituting or omitting language .
BIR Abbreviation for Budget Isolation Resolution . A BIR is attached to every House and Senate bill approved in committee . They must be adopted before the respective bill can be debated . Consideration of BIRs discontinue when both state budgets have passed the legislature and have been transmitted to the governor .
CALENDAR A list of bills which have been reported out of committee and are ready for the third reading .
• Regular Order Calendar A list of bills in the order that they were reported out of committees for third reading . It reflects the order for considering bills .
• Special Order Calendar A list of bills selected from the regular order calendar that selected by the Rules Committee for priority treatment .
• Consent Calendar A list of non-controversial bills which have been through the consent calendar process in the House Rules Committee and are to be considered before the regular order calendar on each legislative day .
COMMITTEES
• Standing Groups of senators or representatives appointed by the presiding officers or Senate president pro tem to act on bills in a certain area of interest . The committees last for the entire length of a legislative term ( 4 years ).
• Conference Committee composed of 3 members ( conferees ) of each house appointed by the presiding officer in the House and the Committee on Assignments in the Senate to resolve differences between the two houses on an amended instrument . Said committee reports amendments back to the legislature for further action .
• Rules Committees in each house responsible for setting the daily calendars of the House and the Senate .
ENROLLMENT The final processing of a bill or resolution , incorporating all amendments , after passing both houses . This is the document that is signed by both presiding officers and the governor . Constitutional amendments do not require the governor ' s signature .
READING Milestone in the legislative process . Term is a holdover from era when there was only one written copy of a bill .
• 1st Reading The reading of a bill by title upon introduction , after which the presiding officer refers same to an appropriate standing committee for study .
• 2nd Reading The reading of a bill when it is reported out of committee , along with announcement of committee action . The presiding officer then orders said bill placed on the calendar for the next legislative day .
• 3rd Reading The reading of a bill when it comes up for consideration on the floor . It is at this point that amendments are considered , and the bill is passed or defeated . If it is passed , it is then transmitted to the other house .
SUBSTITUTE An amendment in the form of an entire bill . When adopted , a substitute becomes the bill . n
// TRAINING TIP //
When county officials and staff leaders talk to one of their legislators about an important bill , they pick up invaluable information about where those legislators stand on an issue . These tidbits may not seem like much , but they can be very useful .
The ACCA67 app provides an easy way to relay this info to your ACCA Policy Team – in a voice memo that is automatically routed to the right person .
In the ACCA67 app menu , tap the button “ Tell Us !”
On the next screen : Ê Tap the microphone icon to record a message , just like voice mail . Ë Tap the upload icon to send the message on its way .
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“ This is Commissioner Brantley over in Jones County . Just talked to Sen . Hamilton about HB123 , and he was real enthusiastic about supporting us . Our other senator – Sen . Kelly -- was leaning our way but still had some questions .”
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