Act: A bill passed by the legislature, signed into law by the Governor.

Adjourn: Termination of a daily session.

Adoption of Rules: At the beginning of each legislative session, a motion is made and adopted in each branch that the rules of the preceding Senate and House be observed until others are adopted.

Advance Sheets: Acts and Resolves of the current year remains in "Slip Law" form during the Legislative year.

Adverse Report: A committee may recommend (a) that the petitioner be given leave to withdraw, (b) that the proposal be referred to the next annual session, (c) in the case of recommendation of special reports, that no legislation is necessary, or (d) that the bill or resolve ought not to pass.

Bill: Accompanies petition and usually asks for legislative action of a relatively permanent nature--a general law or special act. The usual procedure is that they be printed 24 hours before being considered for final action.

Calendar: See orders of the day.

The Code of Massachusetts Regulation: The twenty volume Code is the official state publication containing all regulations currently in effect. The Code makes information about agency procedures and requirements available to citizens throughout the state. Massachusetts courts accept the code as evidence, treating it as a copy of the regulation which state agencies must file with the State Secretary.

Committee on Bills in the Third Reading: This committee must approve structural makeup of legislation prior to final reading in the House or Senate.

Conference Committee: (Committees of Conference) consist of members of each branch appointed by the presiding officers to resolve differences between the branches as to a specific matter. Failure of the committees to agree, or failure of one branch to accept the Committee’s recommendation, ends the matter. The report of the Conference Committee may not be amended--it may only be approved or disapproved.

Daily List: Published on the afternoon of the day before scheduled hearings (and on the preceding Thursday for Monday hearings); lists the rooms, hours, and bills to be heard by each committee.

Deliberation: A verbal exchange between the quorum of a committee attempting to arrive at a decision on any public business within its jurisdiction.

Emergency: A sudden, generally unexpected occurrence or set of circumstances demanding immediate action.

Emergency Preamble: A statement of necessity for immediate action. Normally a law takes effect ninety days after it is passed. With an emergency preamble, an act takes effect at once.

Enactment: Passage of the bill by the House and Senate.

Engrossed bills: Bills and resolves which are before the House and Senate for final action after being certified by the clerk to be rightly and truly prepared for passage.

Executive Orders: As chief executive officer of the State, the Governor bears primary responsibility for the oversight and internal functioning of the executive department. As "supreme executive magistrate", the Governor has the constitutional prerogative as well as the duty, to execute laws. The nature of such an office requires that the Governor have authority to use discretion in applying the energies of the executive branch and the resources of the Commonwealth, as such resources are made available by the legislature, to achieve the purposes or objectives of the laws. To this end, the Governor has broad discretion to select the means he or she will use in executing a constitutional duty. One such means is the issuance of an executive order which has been recognized by the Massachusetts’ courts to be within the executive powers inherent in the office of the Governor.

Executive Session: Any meeting or part of a meeting of a committee which is closed to certain persons for deliberation on certain matters.

Filing date: Legislative petitions must be filed with the Senate or House clerk by 5:00 p.m. on the first Wednesday of December. After that date, only a suspension of rules by the two branches allows the admission of a petition.

Formal Session: Designated by the Speaker and President, to consider an act on reports of committees and matters in the Orders of the Day which may be controversial in nature.

General Law: A legislative act which applies generally to the Commonwealth and its citizens.

House Rule 1A: The House shall not be called to order before the hour of ten o’clock a.m. nor meet beyond the hour of ten o’clock p.m. This rule shall not be suspended unless a majority of the members present and voting consent.

House Rule 19: A majority party caucus may be called by the Speaker or upon petition of twenty-five percent or more of the members of such majority party. A caucus may entertain resolutions, motion or other means of ascertaining the sense of the party members on any subject.

House Rule 28: As an alternative procedure to that provided under the provisions of this rule, the members of the House may, by filing a petition signed by forty percent of the members elected to the House, discharge the committee on Counties on the part of the House, the House Committee on Ways and Means, the House Committee on Bills in the Third Reading, the House Committee on Rules from further consideration of a legislative matter. Seven days following the filing of the petition with the House Clerk, the committee shall be discharged from further consideration of the legislative matter specified in the petition and the House Clerk shall place the matter in the Orders of the Day for the next calendar day that the House is meeting.

House Rule 33A: Copies of all bills shall be available to all members of the House and the public at least 24 hours in advance of consideration by the House.

House members may consider a particular bill, copies of which are not available, only upon a roll call vote of 2/3 of the House members present and voting.

If the report of any legislative committee on any legislative bill filed in the House amends, rewrites or otherwise alters the bill, a printed or photostated copy of the text of such amendment, rewrite, or alteration shall be available to each member of the House and at least 24 hours in advance of consideration by the House.

All amendments offered by members to any legislative matter in the House shall be considered chronologically as submitted to the Clerk of the House, except for an amendment in the second degree provided that all of said amendments shall be clearly and legibly written, and double spaced and drafted in proper form.

All matters filed for the year 1985 and thereafter containing any changes in a present law, or for a totally new law, shall be printed in italics or bracketed.

House and Senate Rules: At the beginning of each biennial legislative session, special committees are established "to prepare rules for the government of the Senate (or House)", and a joint special committee "to prepare rules for the government of the two branches".

Informal Session: Designated by the Speaker, to consider reports of committees and matters in the Orders of the Day which are of a non-controversial nature. Informal sessions may be called in an emergency.

Joint Committee: Any of 23 joint committees, most consisting of 6 Senators and 11 Representatives, responsible for holding hearings and making recommendations on all matters referred to it.

Joint Rule No. 10: All bills referred to committees before April 15 must be reported by the fourth Wednesday of April and within 10 days on all matters referred to them on or after April 15.

Lay on Table: Motion to lay aside consideration of any bill, resolve, report, amendment or motion. If laid on the table, consideration is postponed until a subsequent motion taking the item off the table succeeds. A motion to lay on the table may be made in the Senate only.

Legislative Bulletin of Committee Work: Published under the direction of the Committee on Rules of the Senate and House; contains a complete list of all bills, the committees to which they are assigned, the dates of public hearings, the committees’ reports, and a history of action on each bill.

The Massachusetts Register: A weekly compilation of regulations, hearing notices, executive orders and opinions of the Attorney General.

Meeting: Any corporal convening and deliberation of a committee for which a quorum is required in order to make a decision at which any public policy matter over which the committee has supervision, control jurisdiction or advisory power is discussed or considered; but shall not include any on site inspection of any project or program.

Money bill: Bills relating to financial matters are sent to the Ways and Means or Counties Commission of the respective.

No objection: Without objection, the Senate or House may proceed to business as under suspicion of rules, etc.

Order: A formal motion in writing, temporary in nature and used for such purposes as setting up investigation committees (as distinguished from commissions) changing the rules, and other parliamentary uses, does not require the Governor’s signature.

Orders of the Day: Calendar matters to be considered by the Senate or House at each sitting.

Override: A 2/3 vote of members present in both branches may overturn the Governor’s veto.

Pairing: A courtesy extended only in the Senate, allowing an absent member to be recorded on an issue by "pairing" the vote he/she would have cast, with the actual vote of a present member. The two votes nullify each other and, although recorded neither vote counts in the final tally. The procedure is used only when it will not impact on the final result of a controversial nature.

Passing the Bill to be Enacted or Passing the Resolve: The engrossed bill or resolve is read by title by the President or Speaker prior to his/her endorsement. Bill is transmitted to Governor by Clerk of Senate.

Passing the Bill to be Engrossed: Final action by Senate or House prior to enactment.

Petition: Vehicle used for filing various types of matters for consideration by the General Court; e.g., bills and resolves.

Pocket Veto: Following the prorogation, the Governor fails to sign a bill passed near the close of the session, leaving the Legislature no opportunity to override.

Point of Order: Challenge to breach of order or rule.

The President of the Senate and Speaker of the House: Their role is to preserve order and decorum; decide all questions of order, subject to appeal; determine in which order members are to speak.

Prorogation: Termination of a legislative year by the Governor.

Public Hearing: Each bill is given a public hearing by one or more of the joint committees. Any person may appear at a hearing to favor or oppose a bill. Some committees will accept only written testimony on bills refiled from a previous session.

Question of Personal Privilege: Questions affecting the rights, reputation, and conduct of members.

Quorum: A simple majority of a committee unless otherwise defined by constitution, rule, or law applicable to such committee. A quorum shall be presumed to be present unless otherwise doubted.

Recess: Formal, temporary interruption of a session.

Reconsideration: Any member may move to reconsider an earlier vote, on any matter. If reconsideration prevails, the matter is voted on again the next day.

Report of Committee: Recommendation of committee to which a matter has been referred.

Resolution: Deals with matters of a temporary nature and is used for congratulation, memorials to Congress, etc., may or may not accompany petition, depending on whether it is Senate or House resolution.

Resolve: Accompanies petition and deals with matters of amore immediate or temporary nature.

Second Reading of a Bill: Each bill or resolve is read by its title by the Clerk, prior to debate and action thereon.

Senate and House Journals: Records of proceedings in each branch on each legislative day, including bills considered, amendments offered and votes taken.

Senate Rules: See House and Senate Rules.

Special Act: A legislative act which refers to a specific city, town, district or other regional government agency or to as a person or group of persons, or is of limited duration.

Speaker of the House: See President of the Senate.

Substitution: Procedure by which a bill reported adversely by a committee is overturned. Technically, the bill is substituted for the adverse report of the committee, reviving the legislation.

Suspension of rules: In order to expedite the business of the Senate and the House, rules are sometimes suspended, usually without objection. Rule No. 33 of the Joint Rules allows the alteration, suspension, or rescission, of all rules (with three exceptions) by a concurrent vote of 2/3 of the members present and voting.

Third Reading of the Bill: Each bill or resolve is read by its title by the Clerk, prior to debate and action thereon.

Veto: The Governor returns the bill, unsigned, to the branch of origin with a statement of his/her objections.

Dis. to H. W & M Discharged to House Ways and Means

Dis. to S. W & M Discharged to Senate Ways and Means

HB 5255, 5/8 House bill number and date of report

H.Ord. House Order

HBA-5255, 4/19 House bill amended and dated

Rep. H.House bills Appendix (A&B) reported in the House

in part 5/21 House bill reported in part of the House on that date.

HJ House Journal

ONTP ought not to pass

ONTP-H " " House

ONTP-S " " Senate

ONTP-4/23 ought not to pass--date of recommendation

OTP ought to pass

OTP-with amend ought to pass with amendment

ONTBA-H ought not to be adopted--House

ONTBA-S ought not to be adopted--Senate

OTBA-H ought to be adopted--House

OTBA-S ought to be adopted--Senate

SB Senate bill

SB-H Senate bill reported in the House

SJ Senate Journal

S. Ord. Senate order

S. Res. Senate resolve

S. Reso. Senate resolution

1984-H 1 Year/House Document/[Budget]1

1984-S 95 Year/Senate Document/#95