Legislative Glossary

Term Definition Acronym
Term:
Bicameral
Definition:

A legislature composed of two houses. Florida's legislature is composed of a House of Representatives and a Senate.
Term:
Bill
Definition:

All legislation, including resolutions, memorials, or other measures, upon which a committee may be required to report. See House Rule 5.1.
Term:
Bill Draft
Definition:
A legislative proposal that has been written at the request of a legislator or a legislative committee by the bill drafting services of the House of Representatives or the Senate.
Term:
Bill Drafting
Definition:
The unit of each respective house that provides legislative drafting services for all members and committees.
Term:
Bill History
Definition:

A chronological listing of all formal actions that occur on a bill from its introduction to its final disposition.
Term:
Bill Information System, Legislative
Definition:
A legislative computer program providing real-time information about bills filed for all legislative sessions during the current and previous year.
Acronym:
BHIN
Term:
Bill Number
Definition:
The identifying number given each bill filed for introduction. House bills receive odd numbers, while Senate bills receive even numbers.
Term:
Bill Summary
Definition:
The identifying number given each bill filed for introduction. House bills receive odd numbers, while Senate bills receive even numbers.
Term:
Budget
Definition:

The totality of appropriations measures passed by the Legislature. The detailed spending plan submitted by the Governor to the Legislature which recommends monetary allocations for each of the departments of the state for the next fiscal year is also known as a "budget." Using recommendations from the Governor and individual departments, each house prepares its own version of the budget. After the budgets go through the legislative process, one final version is then presented to the Governor. See Appropriations, Implementing, and Conforming Bills.
Term:
Body
Definition:
One house of a bicameral legislature.