A look at some of the terms you might here bandied about in the halls of the State House.
Act — A bill that has passed both houses of the General Assembly, signed by the governor or passed over the governor’s veto or becomes law without his signature
Act — A bill that has passed both houses of the General Assembly, and has been signed by the governor or passed over the governor’s veto or becomes law without his signature
Adjournment — End of a session for a day
Adjournment sine die — Final end of a regular or special session with no date set for reconvening
Amendment — Any change made or proposed in a bill by adding, changing, substituting or omitting
Appropriate — To allocate money
Appropriation — Money allocated for various departments of government set aside by formal action for specific use
Bill — Draft of proposed law presented to the Legislature for consideration
Bill history — Record of all action on any legislative measure
Calendar — List of pending legislation, according to the order of business scheduled for consideration on a legislative day; printed daily
Call to order — Notice indicating the Legislature is in session; also used to call a disorderly member to order
Caucus — An informal meeting of a group of the members, sometimes called on the basis of party affiliation
Censure — An act to officially reprimand an official for actions while in office
Cloture — A parliamentary procedure invoked to limit or end debate
Commit — The referral and sending of a bill to committee or delegation
Committee report — An official report from a committee; recommendations may be favorable; favorable with amendment; majority favorable, minority unfavorable; majority favorable with amendment, minority unfavorable; or unfavorable
Committee report — An official report from a committee. Recommendations may be favorable; favorable with amendment; majority favorable, minority unfavorable; majority favorable with amendment, minority unfavorable; or unfavorable
Companion measure — Identical bill introduced in both houses
Concurrence — When one house agrees to a proposal or action that which the other house has approved
Concurrent resolution — Affects the action of the General Assembly and its members; does not carry an appropriation and does not have the force of law, but records the sense of the two houses
Conference committee — Composed of three members of each house to resolve differences on an amended bill; reports recommendations or amendments back to the houses for further action
Confirmation — Approval by Senate and/or House of an executive appointment
Conflict of interest — Untenable position that threatens the ability of a legislator to vote or act impartially
Conflict of interest — Untenable position that threatens the ability of a legislator to vote or act impartially
Constitutional amendment — Joint resolution passed by two-thirds vote of each house that affects the constitution and requires approval by voters
Contingency fund — Money set aside for unforeseen expenses during the fiscal year
Co-sponsor — One of two or more members proposing a bill or resolution
Debate — Discussion according to parliamentary rules
Debate adjourned — Postponement of the matter, which may be brought up for consideration later
Desk is clear — Statement by presiding officer, prior to adjourning, that there is no further business
Died in committee — The defeat of a bill in committee by not returning it to the House or Senate for action
Dilatory — A delaying tactic using parliamentary procedure to prevent action from being taken
Division of the question — Procedure to separate a matter into two questions
Executive session — A session excluding all persons other than members and staff personnel authorized to remain
Filibuster — A strategic device by which a minority can control the floor through “extended debate” on a measure by either delaying or preventing passage
Fiscal year — July 1-June 30
Floor — That portion of the assembly chamber reserved for members and officers of the assembly
Gallery — Balconies or other specific areas of chambers for visitors to view the proceedings of the Legislature
Germaneness — The relevance or appropriateness of amendments, speeches, etc.
Grandfather clause — Laws often contain a clause exempting persons from having to comply
Hold harmless clause — That portion of a bill which provides that an existing activity will not suffer financially from a reduction in funding
Hopper — A depository for bills awaiting introduction
Indefinite postponement — A way of disposing of a proposal for the session of the General Assembly
Joint resolution — Has the same force of law as an act, but is a temporary measure, dying when its subject is completed; requires the same treatment as a bill
Lay on the table — Postponement of the matter before the house, which may later be brought up for consideration by an appropriate motion
Lobbyist — A representative of a special interest group whose function is to influence legislation affecting his special interest
Majority report — A report Report that which reflects the thinking of a majority of the committee members on an issue
Memorial — The method by which the Legislature speaks to Congress and other governments or agencies
Message — An official communication from one house to the other or from the governor to the Legislature, usually transmitting bills or resolutions; messages become part of the official journal.
Minority report — A report that which reflects the thinking of the members not favoring the majority position on an issue
Morning hour — The period prior to taking up the calendar when consideration of any matters not on the calendar occurs
Motion — Formal proposal offered by a member of the House or Senate
Nonconcurrence — Non-concurrence — When one house refuses to agree with the other on a bill or resolution that which the other house has amended
Objection — On any statewide uncontested bill or joint resolution, five members must object or request debate, or express a combination of the two to delay action, primarily used to allow time to read the bill or joint resolution, draft an amendment, etc.
Out of order — Not being conducted under proper parliamentary rules and procedures
Pages — Persons stationed at the front of the chamber and available to assist the members
Point of order — A statement calling attention to an alleged breach of order or parliamentary procedure
Point of personal privilege — A statement defending the rights, reputation or conduct of a legislator in his or her official capacity
Postpone to a day certain — To defer consideration to a specific later time or day
President — The lieutenant governor is the presiding officer in the Senate and is referred to while presiding as “Mr. President.”
President pro tempore — The person elected by the Senate to have the same powers as the president in the latter’s absence
Previous question — A motion to close debate and bring the pending question to an immediate vote; if approved, debate is cut off at the end of two hours, equally divided between the opponents and proponents
Quorum — The required number of members present to transact business, which is 63 out of 124 House members and 24 out of 46 senators.
Ratify — To approve and make valid; after a bill has received three readings in each house, ratification comes after bills are signed by the presiding officers and clerks of each chamber.
Recommit — To send back to committee
Reconsideration — A process in which where a measure previously adopted or defeated can be reopened, within the same day or the next legislative day only, and acted upon again
Request for debate — On any statewide uncontested bill or joint resolution, five members must object or request debate, or express a combination of the two, to delay action; primarily used to allow time to read the bill or joint resolution, draft an amendment, etc.
Resolution — Non-binding Nonbinding expression of the sense of the House or Senate
Roll call — The recorded vote on an issue; in the House, by electronic voting system, in the Senate, by voice vote
Seniority — A custom sometimes used in making committee assignments on the basis of based upon length of service
Sergeant at arms — An officer elected by each house to maintain order under the direction of the presiding officer
Sine die — Final adjournment
Skeleton bill — A measure introduced in outline form, substance being added to it at a future date
Speaker — Presiding officer and chief administrative officer of the House; elected by the body
Speaker emeritus — A past speaker of the House, an honorary title
Speaker pro tempore — Substitute presiding officer, taking the chair Chair on request of the speaker in his absence; elected by the body
Sponsor — Legislator who introduces a bill, amendment or resolution
Stand at ease — A term referring to that situation in which the body does not recess or adjourn but suspends its deliberations for indeterminate periods of time
Statutes — Laws enacted by the General Assembly; a law is enacted after it is passed by both the House and the Senate
Stopping the clock — A practice of lengthening the hours of the legislative day irrespective of the passing of the hours of a calendar day by stopping the clock
Strike out — The deletion of Delete language from a bill or resolution
Sunset — Expiration date of a measure
Table — A means of disposing of a bill or other matter
Take a walk — To purposely be absent to avoid voting on a measure
Uncontested — Refers to a bill or joint resolution on which members have not objected, requested debate, or expressed a combination of the two
Veto — The action of a governor in disapproval of a measure; on its return to the Legislature, each house either sustains the veto or overrides it
Veto override — To pass a bill over governor’s veto requires a two-thirds vote of members present and voting of both houses acting separately
Without recommendation — A committee report which is neither favorable nor unfavorable
Yield — Relinquishing of the floor to another member to speak or to ask a question
SOURCE: S.C. General Assembly



Comments