GLOSSARY. Legislative bill drafters are known to use esoteric terms, jargon if you will, which are not always familiar to the

Transcription

1 GLOSSARY Legislative bill drafters are known to use esoteric terms, jargon if you will, which are not always familiar to the uninitiated. The glossary which follows is an attempt to explain just what these people are talking about. Please notice, however, that this listing is primarily intended to supplement, and not duplicate, material found throughout this booklet. Terms which have more to do with legislative procedure than bill drafting per se are not covered. A glossary of these terms is included in material regularly published by the Office of the Clerk, Florida House of Representatives. 156

2 Act An act is a bill which has been approved by both houses of the Legislature and has become a law either with or without the Governor's signature. The acts adopted by each session of the Legislature are annually published in the bound volumes Laws of Florida. Acts of general application are compiled, edited, and published annually in the multivolume set Florida Statutes which the Legislature periodically reenacts as the official statute law of the state. Backs The colored jackets and folders that are attached to copies of proposed legislation in order to put them in proper form for introduction. Bubble Either of the two glass enclosed areas which flank the entrance at the rear of the chamber of the House of Representatives. Bubble people The glassy-eyed occupants of the southwest bubble, who are in reality mild-mannered staff persons from the House Bill Drafting Service. By request This designation is sometimes seen following the name of the sponsor of a particular bill. It is usually in parentheses and indicates that the member has introduced the bill at the request of a constituent, a governmental agency, or 157

3 an organization, and not necessarily on the member s own initiative. CAS Abbreviation for Chamber Automation System, the computer-generated system that displays amendments to bills currently under consideration on the floor of the House and Senate. "CS" Abbreviation for Committee Substitute and Council Substitute. Calendar The calendar is a published agenda of the order of business for the legislative day. Each house issues a calendar which contains a listing of all proposed legislation which has been reported favorably by each committee and is awaiting consideration on the floor of the respective house. Chapter law When an individual bill is enacted into law at a particular session of the Legislature it becomes a chapter law, so called because of the identifying number assigned to it, such as chapter or Chapter laws are collected and published annually in the Laws of Florida. The substance of most general chapter laws is subsequently merged into the next edition of the Florida Statutes. 158

4 Citation As it relates to bill drafting, a citation is a specific reference to a section, subsection, or paragraph of the law (e.g., s , Florida Statutes, or section 1 of chapter 94-85, Laws of Florida) or to another portion of the bill itself (e.g., section 5). Claim bill A claim bill, or "relief act," is a bill which compensates a particular individual or entity for injuries or losses which were occasioned by the negligence or error of a public officer or agency. It is a means by which an injured party may recover damages even though the public officer or agency involved may be immune from attack by an ordinary lawsuit. Clerk's manual The guidebook published every two years by the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives which contains pictures and biographical information about each member of the House and Senate and lists committee and council membership, phone numbers, and other useful information. Coding The underlining of proposed language and the striking through with hyphens of language in the present law, which is required in general bills, local bills, and joint resolutions by the House and Senate Rules, is often referred to as coding. 159

5 Committee substitute and council substitute A bill which a committee or council itself prepares and recommends in lieu of a bill originally referred to the committee or council for study and which embraces the same general subject matter as the original bill. Amendment of a bill at a committee or council meeting commonly prompts a motion that the resulting bill be regenerated, in a form which incorporates the amendments, as a committee substitute or council substitute. Companion bill When copies of the same bill are pending in both houses of the Legislature, they are referred to as companion bills. Bills must be substantially worded the same and identical as to specific intent and purpose in order to be considered as companions. Conference committee An ad hoc committee composed of members of both the House and the Senate appointed by the respective presiding officers for the sole purpose of resolving the differences between two different versions of the same bill which each house has indicated a desire to enact into law. Cut-off date The date provided by the House or Senate rules after which no further bills or joint resolutions may be introduced by a member. The phrase may also refer to the last day upon which the House Bill Drafting Service will accept requests to prepare legislation. 160

6 Directory (See pages 36 and 77) Draft number The number which appears in the upper left-hand corner of any bill prepared by either the House or Senate drafting service. Enacting clause The phrase "Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:" which appears between the title and body of every bill and which is required to be there by the Florida Constitution. Engrossed bill A bill which, in accordance with rules of the respective houses, has been regenerated to include any amendments that may have been adopted by vote of the membership on the House or Senate floor. Enrolled bill The final official form of a bill after having passed both houses and after having amendments of both houses, if any, engrossed into it. It is in this form that the bill is presented to the legislative officers and the Governor for signature. First reading This occurs when a bill is officially introduced into one of the houses of the Legislature and its title is published in the Journal. Since the amendment to Section 7 of Article III of the State Constitution in 1980, it is no longer 161

7 required that the reading clerk actually read the bill. The publication of "first reading" in the Journal also shows the committee or committees to which the presiding officer has referred the bill and any council references given. F.S. Abbreviation for Florida Statutes. Grandfather clause A provision that allows an exemption to a newly enacted requirement based upon a preexisting condition. It is most often used in legislation which regulates a profession or occupation; for example, an existing practitioner in a profession being regulated for the first time might be exempted from licensing requirements. Section , Florida Statutes, is an example. Interim The period of time between regular sessions of the Legislature. ITMS (Integrated Text Management System) This is the name of the mainframe computer program which, through the legislative computer maintained by the Office of Legislative Information Technology Services (OLITS), serves the various functions of the legislative process, including bill and amendment drafting. Jackets (See Backs) 162

8 Journal The official record of legislative proceedings. Each house issues a journal on a daily basis during the session and later a corrected bound volume of the entire session's proceedings. Journals of the Florida Legislature report only formal actions and do not include debate. Legal Research and Drafting Services of the Office of the Secretary of the Senate Senate Bill Drafting. Legislative Intranet The Florida Legislature s electronic repository for a variety of legislative information, including: House and Senate Rules; calendars; journals; administrative policies and procedures; session summaries; member and staff directories; Bill Information Citator ; lobbyist directory; online training registration; training calendars; Search and Browse program. Local bill See discussion under SPECIAL ACTS on page 9. Online Sunshine The official Internet site of the Florida Legislature, which provides: electronic access to the Florida Statutes and Constitution; member and committee information for the House and Senate; press releases; House and Senate Bills; search capability for bill texts; calendars; journals; Bill Information Citator ; subject index for bills; sponsor reports 163

9 by member; links to other legislative and state government sites. PCB A bill developed by a committee is a "committee bill." Prior to a bill being formally introduced as a committee bill, it is known as a proposed committee bill (PCB). PCS A proposed committee substitute or proposed council substitute, prepared by committee or council staff prior to the date the bill for which it will be offered as a substitute is heard by the committee. Prefiling The filing of bills by members with the Clerk of the House or Secretary of the Senate prior to the convening of the legislative session. Such bills are referred to committees meeting in the interim and are often ready for floor action by the first day of session. Preliminary draft A term employed primarily by the House Bill Drafting Service which essentially means "rough draft" or "first draft." It is a bill which is in technically complete form, but which is presented to a member for consideration and approval prior to being duplicated and jacketed for actual introduction. 164

10 Printed bill A photo-reduced printed version of a bill which is pending in the Legislature. These are the small 6" x 9" copies of bills, perforated with binder holes, which include a legislative summary of the bill's contents at the end. Copies of original House bills are tan; original Senate bills are white. Copies of House committee substitutes are blue; Senate committee substitutes are pink. Proof of publication A notarized statement which contains a copy of a newspaper advertisement indicating an intention to seek legislative approval of a special or local bill. Such a statement accompanies the bill when introduced and proves that the bill was advertised in advance as required by law. Reviser's bill A reviser's bill is a nonsubstantive bill passed by the Legislature for the purpose of removing inconsistencies, redundancies, and unnecessary repetitions in the Florida Statutes and for otherwise improving their clarity and facilitating their correct and proper interpretation. A reviser's bill is to be accompanied by revision and history notes, commonly called reviser's notes, which explain the changes being made in the statutes and the reasons therefor. A bill is not a "reviser's bill" simply because it may contain the explanatory comments of the sponsor. The only official reviser's bills are those prepared by the staff of the Division 165

11 of Statutory Revision of the Office of Legislative Services under the authority of s , Florida Statutes. Search and Browse The browser-based search engine available on the Legislative Intranet which enables legislative staff to conduct simple and complex searches of: the Florida Statutes, Florida Statutes Index, Tracing Table, Table of Section Changes, Cross-References Table, and Table of Repealed and Transferred Sections; The Florida Constitution and Florida Constitution Index; current-year Laws of Florida and Laws of Florida Index; current-year House and Senate Enrolled Acts; the U.S. Constitution and U.S. Constitution Index; opinions; Title 3 of the U.S. Code. Session laws The Laws of Florida, a set of bound volumes, published each year, which contains the annual work product (acts, resolutions, and memorials) of the Legislature. Sponsor A member who introduces a bill into the Legislature, or any one of a number of members whose signatures appear as cointroducers of a bill. Statutory Revision The editorial staff which compiles and publishes the official Florida Statutes every year. The Division of Statutory Revision operates under the authority of s , Florida Statutes. 166

12 Summary The brief description of the contents of a proposed bill, which is prepared for House and Senate bills by the respective drafting services and which appears at the end of each printed bill. Sunset A term which was used in the past to refer to the Regulatory Sunset Act (repealed in 1993) and is now incorrectly used in legislative vernacular to refer to the repeal of an act, section, or subdivision of a section. A person who wishes to sunset a provision in 2010 actually wants to repeal the provision in that year. Technical amendment Strictly speaking, this is an amendment submitted on a special amendment form, which is used in the House of Representatives to make technical amendments of a purely nonsubstantive nature. Such amendments are prepared by the House Bill Drafting Service and may only be introduced in the name of the Procedural and Redistricting Council. Amendments are sometimes introduced by members which are characterized as technical or "corrective" amendments, but these amendments are not submitted on the special technical amendment forms. Title amendment An amendment to the title of a bill. Title amendments are often necessary to conform the title to the 167

13 contents of the bill after an amendment to the bill itself has made a substantial change in the effect of its provisions. Traveling with the bill A phrase used to refer to an amendment or amendments to a bill which have been adopted in committee or council but have not been engrossed into the bill, and which instead accompany the bill to the House floor to be voted on by the House. 168

14 INDEX Act Glossary Administrative provisions Generally Advertisement Local bills, sample notice Age Specifying Amendment Coding Consecutive sections Cross references , Final checklist Florida Constitution Florida Constitution, sample joint resolution General bill, sample Introductory paragraph Quality control checklist Repeals , 72 Session laws Splitting statute sections Statute catchline Statute subdivisions Statute subdivisions, sample bill Statute text Subdivisions, adding Substantial rewording Amendments Generally , Title And Use of Appropriation section Backs Glossary Ballot statement Constitutional amendment Bill requests Bills with special requirements Bubble Glossary By request Glossary Calendar Glossary Capitalization Cross references

15 Generally Catchline See Section heading Ceremonial resolutions See Simple resolution Chamber Automation System (CAS) Glosary Chapter law Amending Generally Glossary Checklists Drafting Final Quality control Citations Final checklist Glossary Claim bills Compensation Excess judgments Glossary Procedural matters Clerk's manual Glossary Coding Appropriation section Effective date Generally Glossary Local bills New language Repeal section Session laws Underlining Committee substitute Bill jacket Glossary Companion bill Generally Glossary Concurrent resolution Generally Sample Title Conference committee Glossary Constitution, Florida Joint resolution Constitutional requirements Advertising special acts

16 Amendment of statute text Bill structure and content Concurrent resolutions Effective date , 45 Enacting clause General and special laws Joint resolutions Local bill referenda Notice, special acts Repeals Setting out in full Severability clause Special acts Subject Subject of bill Title Council substitute Bill jacket Amendment to Glossary Created sections Generally Cross references Capitalization Draft preparation , 75 Final checklist Repeals Statutory Cut-off date Glossary Dates Specifying Definitions Generally Directory amendment , 127, 137 Directory language Adding statute subdivisions Amending chapter law Amending consecutive sections Amending statute subdivisions Amending statute text , 77 Creating statute sections Creating consecutive statute sections Creating parts Creating statute chapters Effective date Final checklist Generally Glossary Introductory paragraph Renumbering statute subdivisions

17 Splitting statute sections Substantial rewording Draft number Glossary Effective date Coding Constitutional amendment Directory language Draft preparation Final checklist Generally References Special considerations , 44, 45 Election Regular election Special election Enacting clause Constitutional requirements Final checklist Glossary Engrossed bill Glossary Enrolled bill Generally Glossary F.S. Glossary Felony penalty Final checklist Generally Findings and intent provisions First reading Glossary Floor amendments See Amendments Flush left Final checklist Statute text Fractions Expressing General bills "Flush left" material "May" "Shall" "Whereas" clauses Administrative provisions Age, specifying Amendatory enactment Amending chapter law Amending session laws Amending statute subdivisions

18 Amending statute subdivisions, sample Appropriation section Body of bill Capitalization Checklist for preparation , 59 Coding Coding statute text Concurrent resolution, sample Creating consecutive statute sections Creating new statute sections Creating part of chapter Creating statute chapter Creating statute text , 86 Cross references , 70, 73, 90 Dates, specifying Definitions Directory language , 47, Effective date Effective date references Final checklist Format , 35 Fractions, expressing Germanity , 35 House resolution of commendation, sample Input Joint resolution proposing constitutional amendment, sample Memorial requesting Congressional action New language Nonnumerical references Numbering new statute sections Numbers, expressing Parallel expression Penalty section Preparation Provisos Punctuation Repeals , 42, 72 Sample Severability clause Short title Special session disclaimer Statute text, adding Style and usage Subdividing statute sections Subdividing statute text Subsections Substantial rewording of section Time period, specifying Title Underlining

19 General bills Style and usage General laws Constitutional requirements , 5 Local application Population act General law of local application Constitutional requirements Population act Subject Glossary Grandfather clause Glossary House Resolution See Simple resolution Interim Glossary Introductory language Statute text Introductory material Final checklist Introductory paragraph Amending , Jacketing bill Generally , 104 Joint resolutions Ballot statement Coding Constitutional amendment Constitutional amendment, sample proposal Generally Special election Title Journal Glossary Laws of Florida See Session laws Legalese Local bill Advertisement Claim bills Coding General law of local application distinguished Glossary Notice of legislation, sample Referenda Referendum See Special acts May Use of Memorial 174

20 Congressional action, sample memorial requesting Generally Title Misdemeanor penalty Multiple effective dates , 72, 134 Notice Effective date Local bill advertisement, sample Publication Special acts Subject Title Numbering Final checklist Numbers Specifying One subject See Subject Online Sunshine Glossary Or Use of PCB (Proposed Committee Bill) Glossary PCS (Proposed Committee Substitute or Proposed Council Substitute) Glossary Penalty section Generally Plural Population act See General law of local application Prefiling Glossary Preliminary draft Glossary Present tense Printed bill Glossary Proof of publication Glossary Provisos Generally Publication Notice of local legislation, sample Notice, special acts Time, special acts Public necessity statement Public records and public meetings exemptions Punctuating subdivisions Punctuation 175

21 Fractions Generally Numbers Parallel expression Singular or plural Subdivisions Redesignating paragraphs , 142 Referenda Local bills Special acts Regular election Local bill referenda Relief act See Claim bill , 159 Repeals Cross references , 73 Drafting Generally Resolving clause Generally Memorial Reviser s bill Glossary Sample bills Claim bill, general Claim bill, local Concurrent resolution General bill amending Florida Statutes General bill amending subdivisions of Florida Statutes Generally House resolution of commendation Joint resolution proposing constitutional amendment. 109 Memorial requesting Congressional action Notice of local legislation Search and Browse , 70-71, 75, 78 Glossary Section heading Section numbers Generally Session laws Amending Coding Glossary Setting forth {showing} statute text Severability clause Shall Use of Short title Simple resolution "Whereas" clauses

22 Ceremonial Generally House resolution of commendation, sample Purpose Title Single subject See Subject Singular Sovereign immunity See Claim bills Special acts Advertisement Constitutional requirements Criteria Generally Notice Notice of local legislation, sample Subject Title Special election Joint resolutions Local bill referenda Special session disclaimer Sponsors Bill jacket Cosponsor Glossary Statute text "And" "Flush left" "May" "Or" "Shall" Adding subdivisions Administrative provisions Age Amending Amendment Capitalization Chapter law Citation Coding Consecutive sections, amending Creating Creating chapters Creating consecutive sections Creating, generally Creating parts Creating sections and section numbers Cross references , 70 Dates

23 Definitions Drafting checklist Effective date Effective date references Enrolled bill Final checklist Flush left Fractions, expressing General bill amending subdivisions, sample General bill amending, sample Introductory language Introductory paragraph Legalese New language Numbering sections Numbers, expressing Parallel expression Plural or singular Present tense Provisos Punctuation Quality control checklist Repeals , Section heading Setting forth Sources Splitting into multiple sections Style and usage Subdividing Subdivisions, amending Subsections, renumbering Substantial rewording , 39 Time, expressing Title , Statutory Revision , 78 Glossary Style and usage "And" "Flush left" "May" "Or" "Shall" Legalese Parallel expression Plural Present tense Singular Subdividing statute text Subject Constitutional requirements , 27, 29 General law of local application

24 Germanity , 35 Notice Single or one subject Special acts Title , Substantial rewording Generally Summary Glossary Technical amendment Glossary Terminology Text Setting forth Time period Specifying Title Amending statute subdivisions Amending statute text Amendment Ballot Bill jacket Concurrent resolution Constitutional requirements , 28 Creating consecutive statute sections Creating parts Creating statute chapters Creating statute text Defective Directories Final checklist Generally Germanity Joint resolution Memorial Notice Preparation Resolutions Simple resolution Single subject Special acts , 28 Subject , Subsections, adding Sufficiency Title amendment Glossary Traveling with the bill Glossary Trust fund bills Typing or input Generally

25 Whereas clauses ,