Printers Number:

Proposed legislation keeps its assigned bill number as it makes its way through the legislature.  However, every time the bill is amended, whether in committee or on the floor, the bill is reprinted with the change and is given a new printers number.

Caucus:

This is a closed door meeting of all the members of the same political party in one house of the legislature.  Members are encouraged, but not required, to attend.  In the House many staff members are invited to join, while in the Senate typically only important senior staffers join the members.

The primary purpose of caucus is to educate members on bills so that policy may be developed and strategy planned to support or oppose specific legislation.  Caucus is typically more important for the majority party of a chamber, because a unified vote will often mean whether the legislation passes or not.

The members will often debate over the merits of the bills and certain amendments they plan to bring forth.  Since the press and the public are not allowed to attend, caucuses provide a forum for discussion and compromise without publicity.

After every election year (even numbered years), and before the new session starts (between the second week of November and January), each caucus meets to choose its leaders.  Each party chooses a leader, a whip,  a caucus chairman, and a caucus secretary. 

The leader of the caucus is the main party spokesman on the floor for positions agreed upon by the caucus, and rarely speaks as an individual member.  The whip is responsible for getting individual votes for certain legislation.

The whip can use a variety of tactics as leverage to get members to vote with the party.  These include the threat of poor committee assignments, withholding party support at election time, and reserving support for the member’s district.  However, as all pressures these tactics work best when used sparingly.

Standing Committees:

These committees operate throughout the session to review, and hold hearings on bills that have been referred to them.  They also refer bills to the floor.

How members are chosen:

In the Senate:  As soon as possible after he/she is elected the President Pro Tempore of the Senate will appoint committee chairs, vice-chairs and members.

In the House:  There is a Committee on Committees, which consists of the Speaker and 15 members of the House.

Ten of these members will be of the majority party and five from the minority.  The committee will recommend to the House the members who should serve on all the standing committees. Except for the Speaker, the Majority and Minority Leaders, Whips, Caucus Chairs, Caucus Secretaries, Caucus Administrators, Policy Chairs and the chairs and minority chairs of standing committees, each member shall be entitled to serve on no less than two committees.

The Speaker then appoints the chair, vice-chair, and secretary of each standing committee when the committee has no standing subcommittees as prescribed within.  When the standing committee does have standing subcommittees, the Speaker shall appoint a subcommittee chair for each one.

The Minority Leader appoints the minority chair, minority vice-chair and minority secretary of each standing committee and the minority subcommittee chair for each subcommittee.

Conference Committees:

All Conferees of the House Conference Committee will be appointed by the Speaker and all the members from the Senate appointed by the President Pro Tempore.  Two from each chamber will be appointed from the majority party and one from the minority party.

The members must confine themselves to the differences which exist between the House and Senate.

The presentation of reports of Committees of Conference shall be in order after having been signed by a majority of members of the committee of each House.

Consideration of a report of a Committee of Conference by the House shall be in order when it has been printed, placed on the desks of the members and listed on the calendar.

Reports presented by conference committees cannot be amended by either chamber.  They must be voted either up or down.