ACT: A bill which has passed both houses of the legislature, been enrolled, approved by the governor or passed over the governor's veto, and published.
ADJOURN: To conclude a legislative day's business
ADOPTION: Approval of a motion, amendment, substitute amendment, simple resolution, or joint resolution.
AMENDMENT: A suggested alteration in any proposal, often referred to as a simple amendment in distinction to a substitute amendment intended to take the place of the proposal.
APPEAL: A member's challenge of a ruling on a point of order. To prevail, an appeal requires the support of a majority of the members present.
BILL: A proposed change of law originating in either house, requiring approval by both houses of the legislature and the governor, or passage notwithstanding the objections of the governor by a two-thirds vote in each house, before becoming effective.
CALENDAR: The assembly agenda for any legislative day.
CERTIFICATE OR CITATION: A formal legislative document of commendation, congratulations or condolences.
CHAIR: The presiding officer.
CHIEF CLERK: The assembly or senate officer elected to perform and direct the clerical and personnel functions of the assembly or senate.
COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSON: The head of a committee.
COMMITTEE EXECUTIVE ACTION: The action of a committee on any proposal.
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE: The assembly or senate membership organized in committee for the discussion of a specific matter.
CONCURRENCE: The action by which one house agrees to a proposal or action of the other house.
CONFERENCE COMMITTEE: A committee of representatives and senators appointed to resolve differences on a specific proposal.
DILATORY: To delay.
DIVISION OF THE QUESTION: To break a question into 2 or more separate propositions.
ENGROSSED PROPOSAL: A proposal incorporating all adopted amendments and all approved technical corrections in the house of origin.
ENROLLED PROPOSAL: A proposal passed and concurred in, incorporating any amendments and corrections approved by both houses.
EXPUNGE: To remove material from the record and thus undo some assembly or senate action.
EXTRAORDINARY SESSION: The convening of the legislature by the assembly and senate organization committees or by petition or joint resolution of the legislature to accomplish the business specified in the action calling the session. When used to continue a floorperiod of the regular session for a limited purpose, the extraordinary session is referred to as an extended session.
FISCAL ESTIMATE: A memorandum explaining the impact of any proposal on state or local finances.
FLOOR AMENDMENT: Any amendment offered for assembly consideration at the 2nd reading stage, or for committee consideration, but not drafted by the legislative reference bureau.
GERMANENESS: The relevance or appropriateness of amendments.
HEARING: A committee meeting at which the public is invited to testify on a proposal or issue.
HISTORY: A record of actions on any given proposal.
HISTORY FILE: The list of entries made by the chief clerk in the bulletin of proceedings recording the actions of the legislature on a proposal.
INCIDENTAL MOTIONS AND REQUESTS: A group of motions and requests which generally relate to the proceedings, procedures and subsidiary questions during debate, and which must be disposed of before proceeding to the main question under consideration. Incidental questions have lower precedence than privileged questions but higher precedence than subsidiary and main motions.
INDEFINITE POSTPONEMENT: A motion to kill a proposal for a legislative session in its house of origin.
INTRODUCTION: The formal presentation of a proposal before the assembly or senate.
JOINT CONVENTION, ALSO CALLED JOINT SESSION: A joint meeting of the senate and the assembly.
JOINT HEARING: A hearing held by a joint committee or by committees of both houses.
JOINT RESOLUTION: A proposal requiring adoption by both houses, to: a) express the opinion of the legislature; b) change the joint rules; c) propose an amendment to the state constitution; or d) propose or ratify an amendment to the U.S. constitution.
JOINT RULES: The common rules of procedure adopted by both houses.
JOURNAL: The official publication of the assembly or senate.
LEAVE: Permission to be absent from the assembly or senate.
LEGISLATIVE DAY: Any day the legislature is in session.
MAIN MOTIONS AND QUESTIONS: The final affirmative question concerning a proposal during any stage of its consideration or any motion made or question raised when no other matter is before the assembly. Main questions have lower precedence than privileged, incidental and subsidiary questions.
MAJORITY: One more than half.
MANUAL: The publication containing the rules of the assembly or senate, the joint rules, the session schedule, the state constitution, alphabetical indexes and other materials deemed relevant to a representative's job.
MEMBER: A duly elected representative to the assembly or senate.
MEMBERS PRESENT: Those members in attendance at a daily session.
MOTION: A proposed action requiring assembly approval by a vote.
NONCONCURRENCE: The refusal of one house to agree to a proposal or action of the other.
OPINION OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL: A formal reply by the attorney general to a specific question.
PAIR: A written agreement between 2 members on opposite sides of a question not to vote on that question as long as either is absent with leave, and which permits the absent member to influence the outcome of a vote.
PARLIAMENTARY INQUIRY: A request for an explanation of a legislative rule or procedure.
PASSAGE: Final approval of a bill.
PETITION: A request that the assembly take a particular course of action.
POINT OF ORDER: A request that the presiding officer rule on some matter of parliamentary procedure.
PRECEDENT: A previous ruling, decision or action used to interpret legislative rules.
PREVIOUS QUESTION: A motion that debate be ended on a proposal.
PRIVILEGED MOTIONS AND REQUESTS: A group of motions and requests relating to basic questions concerning the meetings, organization, rules, rights and duties of the assembly or senate and having the highest precedence for consideration. Privileged motions and requests take precedence over incidental, subsidiary and main questions.
PROPOSAL: A resolution, joint resolution or bill put before the assembly or senate for consideration.
QUESTION: A statement before the assembly or senate for decision.
QUORUM: A majority of the current assembly or senate membership, unless otherwise required by the state constitution.
RECESS: A temporary suspension of business during a day of the year
RECONSIDERATION: A motion to nullify a decision and again consider and vote on the question involved.
REGULAR ORDER OF BUSINESS: The regular sequence of deliberations on any legislative day.
REGULAR SESSION: The biennial session of the legislature established by the constitution and by section 13.02 of the statutes. The Wisconsin legislature convenes in the capitol on the first Monday of January in each odd-numbered year at 2 p.m. to take the oath of office, select officers, and to organize itself for the conduct of its business (if the first Monday falls on January 1 or 2, the legislature organizes on January 3). Daily meetings begin in January in each year and continue throughout the biennium until the final adjournment of the session. The term "session" is also often used to refer to the daily meetings of the legislature.
REJECTION: An action for the adverse and final disposition of: a) a resolution or joint resolution for the biennial session of the legislature; b) an amendment or substitute amendment with regard to one specific document; c) the application of a motion to the current situation; and d) the report of a committee.
REMAIN INFORMAL: A temporary suspension of proceedings in the assembly or senate.
REQUEST: A proposed action which does not require a vote because a) unanimous consent has been asked for; b) the action is required if there are sufficient seconds; or c) the presiding officer has the authority to take or order the action requested.
RESCIND: An action by which the assembly or senate nullifies an action or actions on a proposal so as to enable it to again consider a proposal from a given stage. When such motion prevails, the assembly or senate resumes its consideration of a proposal at the stage indicated in the motion.
RESOLUTION: A proposal a) expressing the opinion of the assembly or senate or b) changing assembly or senate rules.
ROLL CALL DAY: A legislative day on which any roll call is taken.
ROLL CALL VOTE: A vote on which each member voting is recorded by name.
RULES OF PROCEDURE: The legislative rules which govern the conduct of legislative business.
RULING: The chair's decision on a point of order.
SERGEANT AT ARMS: The officer elected by the members to perform and direct the police and custodial functions in the assembly or senate.
SINE DIE ADJOURNMENT: The final adjournment of a legislative session.
SPECIAL COMMITTEE: A committee created by a resolution, or a special committee or temporary special committee created by a written order of the speaker under rule 10, to investigate specific matters during a session or committee work period, and report to the assembly or senate.
SPECIAL ORDER OF BUSINESS: Any proposal ordered by the assembly or senate to be given consideration at a specified time and taking precedence over the regular orders of business at that time.
SPECIAL SESSION: The convening of the legislature by the governor to accomplish a special purpose for which convened.
STAGE: One of the formal steps in the legislative process.
STANDING COMMITTEE: A permanent legislative committee.
SUBSIDIARY MOTIONS: A group of motions which change, or delay or accelerate the consideration of a proposal before the assembly or senate. Subsidiary motions have lower precedence than privileged and incidental questions but higher precedence than main motions.
SUBSTITUTE AMENDMENT: An amendment which, if accepted, takes the place of the original proposal. The term more accurately describes a "substitute bill" or "substitute resolution".
SUFFICIENT SECONDS: The support of 15 members necessary to initiate certain procedures in these rules.
SUSPENSION OF THE RULES: A motion requiring two-thirds majority support and by which a special action on a specific proposal is accomplished despite the existence of a rule blocking such action. Any suspension of the rules is temporary.
UNANIMOUS CONSENT: A request to suspend the rules for a specific purpose; if no objection is heard, it is assumed that the request has the consent of the entire body.
VETO: The action by which a bill or a part thereof is rejected by the governor.
VOICE VOTE: A vote taken by asking the members in favor of a question to say "aye" simultaneously and then the members opposed to likewise say "no".