Glossary

Plain meanings for the words you'll meet on GovScorecard and in news about your legislature.

Adopted: Approved by a vote. The word is used mostly for resolutions, which state a chamber's view rather than change the law.
Amendment: A change to a bill while it is being considered. A constitutional amendment changes a constitution itself and has a longer road to travel.
Appropriation: Public money set aside by law for a particular purpose. Budget bills are mostly appropriations.
Bicameral: Having two chambers. Congress and every state legislature except Nebraska's are bicameral.
Bill: A proposal for a new law, or for a change to one already on the books. It becomes law only once it has passed the legislature and been signed, or has taken effect without a signature.
Bill number: The label a legislature gives each bill, like HB 1001 or SB 24-231. The letters usually tell you which chamber it started in.
Bipartisan: Supported by members of both major parties.
Caucus: A group of legislators who meet because they share a party, a region or an interest. The meeting itself is also called a caucus.
Chair: The legislator who leads a committee, running its meetings and, in most legislatures, deciding which bills it takes up.
Chamber: One of the two houses of a legislature, such as a state Senate or House. The lower chamber goes by other names in some states: the Assembly in California, Nevada, New York, New Jersey and Wisconsin, and the House of Delegates in Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. Nebraska has only one chamber.
Co-sponsor: A legislator who signs on to support a bill someone else introduced.
Committee: A small group of legislators who study the bills on one subject, such as education or transportation, and decide which ones go on to the full chamber. Many bills never make it out of committee.
Concurrent resolution: A statement both chambers approve together, often about their own rules or schedule. In Congress it doesn't go to the president and doesn't change the law.
Constituent: Someone who lives in a legislator's district.
Decided: Settled one way or the other: a bill is decided once it becomes law, is vetoed or fails. Our passage rate counts only decided bills. How we work it out
District: The area a legislator is elected to represent. Districts in the same chamber hold roughly the same number of people, and their lines are redrawn after each census.
Enacted: Became law. A bill is enacted when it is signed, when it takes effect without a signature, or when the legislature overrides a veto.
Engrossed: The official copy of a bill as one chamber passed it, before it goes to the other. Some states use the word a little differently.
Enrolled: The final copy of a bill that has passed both chambers, ready for the governor or president to sign or veto.
Failed: Didn't pass. A bill fails when a vote goes against it or when its session ends before it gets through.
Filibuster: Long debate used to delay or block a vote, best known in the U.S. Senate.
Gerrymandering: Drawing district lines to favor a party or group.
Incumbent: The person who holds an office now.
Introduced: Formally filed in a chamber and given a bill number, which is the first step on a bill's road.
Joint resolution: A resolution both chambers must approve. In Congress, one can carry the force of law, as a bill does, or propose an amendment to the Constitution.
Legislator: Someone elected to make laws, whether in Congress, a statehouse, or a city council or county board.
Legislature: The elected body that makes a state's laws. Congress is the federal one, and city councils and county boards do the same work for local governments.
Lobbyist: A person paid to advocate to lawmakers for a cause or a client.
Ordinance: A law passed by a city or county.
Override: A vote by the legislature to pass a bill over a veto. It usually takes two-thirds of each chamber.
Passage rate: Our measure of how often a legislator's bills become law: of the bills they led as primary sponsor that were decided (became law, vetoed or failed), the share that became law, counting bills only from completed sessions. Profiles also show it for the bills they co-sponsored, and for both together. How we work it out
Passed: Approved by a vote of a chamber. Outside Nebraska, a bill has to pass both chambers before it can be signed into law.
Pending: Still somewhere along the way: in committee, awaiting a vote or waiting on a signature.
Primary sponsor: The legislator who introduces a bill and leads it through, sometimes together with one or two others. Some states, Colorado among them, call them prime sponsors.
Quorum: The fewest members who must be present for a chamber or committee to do business.
Ranking member: The minority party's lead member on a committee. The title is used mostly in Congress.
Regular session: The session a legislature holds on its usual calendar, set by its state's constitution or laws.
Resolution: A formal statement by one or both chambers. Most don't change the law; they honor someone, state a position or set the chamber's own rules.
Roll call: A vote in which each member's yes or no is recorded by name.
Seat: One elected position in a chamber or on a council, such as Senate District 20. The seat stays the same when the person holding it changes.
Session: The stretch of time a legislature meets to make laws. Most states meet every year and a few every other year, and each Congress lasts two years.
Special session: An extra session held outside the regular one, called by the governor or, in some states, by the legislature itself, often to settle a single matter such as a budget or district maps.
Sponsor: A legislator who puts their name to a bill, either as the primary sponsor who introduced it or as a co-sponsor who signed on in support.
Statehouse: The building where a state legislature meets, and a common nickname for the legislature itself.
Subject: The topic a bill is filed under, such as education, health or taxes. We use subjects to show where a legislator's bills are focused.
Supermajority: A vote that needs more than half, often two-thirds or three-fifths.
Term limit: A cap on how many terms, or years, a person may serve in an office.
Veto: A governor's or president's rejection of a bill, which stops it unless the legislature overrides the veto.
Vice chair: The committee member who stands in for the chair.
Withdrawn: Pulled back by its sponsor before a final decision. Our passage rate leaves withdrawn bills out.