DEL.ICIO.USThe following is a list of Georgia political parlance.
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Administration bill — A bill sponsored by the governor and his floor leaders.
Agency bill — A bill requested by one of the state agencies.
Amendment — A change made to a bill.
Author — Not the same as the sponsor of a bill. The author can be a legislator, legislative counsel, a lobbyist, a special interest association, or any number of others.
Big Budget — The budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
Called Home — A legislator who "retires" on the advice of his family for having a little too much fun in Atlanta.
Catfish — A bill that loses the meat, or any power, in the amendment process. Also known as being gutted or Grooverized, in honor of former longtime lawmaker Denmark Groover, an attorney who was an expert at filleting bills. Often used in the sentence, "Hold still little catfish, all I want to do is gut ya," with the bill playing the role of the catfish.
Cease all audible conversation — Means "shut the h — — — up." What the House speaker or presiding officer of the Senate says when he tries to get lawmakers, staffers (and occasionally loud — mouthed reporters) to quiet down on the House or Senate floor. Generally preceded or followed by a slamming of the gavel so violent it's felt in Taipei.
Conference committee — A six — member committee composed of three House members and three senators, appointed by the House speaker and the Senate president to reconcile different versions of a bill passed by both chambers.
Constitutional amendment — A proposal to change the state constitution. It takes a two — thirds vote in each chamber and, later, the approval of voters.
Christmas Tree — A bill that gets lots of other bills amended to it, generally at the end of the session. See: vehicle.
Dead — Used to describe a bill that is no longer viable, at least for the moment. Such legislation can be brought back to life, often by being tied to a Christmas Tree. No bill is truly dead until the session ends.
Depot — The location of many of the receptions put on by various towns or special interest groups for lawmakers and their staffs. Located about a block from the Capitol next to the Coke museum and Underground Atlanta. If it's 5:15 p.m. on a session day and you're looking for a lawmaker, he or she is probably at the Depot.
Devotional — The sermon lawmakers get before they start business each day, usually from a Protestant minister.
Doctor of the Day — Local doctors who volunteer to work a day at the statehouse medical station and are introduced to legislators each day.
Fiscal note — Estimate of a bill's costs, if there is one.
Fiscal year — The year covered by the state's budget, July 1 to June 30.
Gentleman from, lady from — How lawmakers refer to each other in debates.
Hand vote — Allows lawmakers to vote on bills without a record of how they voted. Often used right after lunch, when many members haven't returned to the chamber but the speaker or lieutenant governor want to get the calendar moving. Speakers will sometimes use hand votes on amendments to determine the support without putting it to a formal vote.
Hawks — Lieutenants of the House speaker who swoop into committee meetings and vote on bills to either kill them or get them moving.
Hopper — A folder in the House clerk's office and the Secretary of the Senate's office where bills are filed.
Housekeeping bill — A bill that fixes small or technical problems in a law. A housekeeping bill might, for instance, change Georgia code so that tax laws in the state match those of the federal government. Or it can be a bill that merely changes some out — of — date language or fixes unintended errors in earlier bills. Sometimes used to slip in tax breaks or other changes without most lawmakers knowing it.
Industry bill — A bill brought by lawmakers on behalf of a particular industry, often written by lobbyists for that industry.
Leadership — The Senate president, president pro — tempore, majority leader, and their designees. In the House, it's generally the speaker, speaker pro — tempore, majority leader, rules chairman and others chosen to be included in the leadership circle.
Little Budget — The mid — year spending plan, which helps fund the final few months of the current fiscal year.
Local Assistance Grant — Money that goes to a specific district at the request of a lawmaker. Also known as pork.
Mash the button — Generally means pressing the voting machine. In the appropriations room, it means pressing the button to let the chairman know a member has a question.
Modified open rule — Allows a bill to be amended, but the amendment must be printed and placed on the desks of lawmakers at least one hour before debate
Modified structured rule — Allows a bill to be amended by the Rules Committee, which is run by member of the chamber leadership.
New Information — Used to be known as "later data." In budget talk, it means "new information" has been given to House or Senate leaders that allows them to spend less or more money on a program. For instance, an agency lobbyist could tell lawmakers late in the session they need money for 400,000 Georgians in a health care program, rather than the 500,000 included in the governor's budget proposal. That means they can spend some money elsewhere. "New information" or "later data" can also simply be used by lawmakers as an excuse to shift money from one priority to another, regardless of the "data" or "information."
Not ready — As in, "That bill is not quite ready." Usually means the bill is being held up, often as a hostage to be used in a later trade for passage of other legislation.
Open Rule — Means a bill that can be amended.
People in the halls — Also known as "friends in the hall." Lobbyists, as in, "The people in the halls don't want you to vote for this bill."
Point of Personal Privilege — When lawmakers get a chance to get up and talk about anything and everything, from the war in Iraq to gas bills and the history of bond ratings in Georgia.
Readers — When a bill is a filed, a member of the House clerk's staff in the House, or the clerk himself, and a member of the Senate secretary's staff in the Senate, reads the caption of the bill to members.
Reassignment — When the House Speaker or lieutenant governor assigns a bill to a new committee, often because the bill is stalled in the committee it was originally assigned to.
Reconsideration — When a bill or amendment is brought up for another vote.
Recommit — To send a bill back to a committee.
Regents Row — Where the state's university lobbyists sit during budget negotiations, usually reserved hours before the meetings begin.
Rules — The committee that decides whether a bill gets debated by the full chamber. Later in the session, it sets the daily calendar, making it very powerful.
Sine die — Latin for adjournment without recall. On the last day of the session, the House Speaker and lieutenant governor adjourn "sine die" and slam down their gavels.
Special Interest Legislation — Just what it sounds like. Usually meant to help one industry, or even a single business or taxpayer.
Structured rule — Used to more commonly be called "engrossed," essentially meaning the bill can't be amended.
Study Committee — Where bills often go when lawmakers aren't ready to act on them. Sometimes the bills are refined by a study committee and will come up the next year. Other bills never resurface.
Sunset — When a law or agency expires. Usually legislation or an agency about to sunset gets renewed before it ever dies.
Supplemental budget — See: Little Budget.
Sweepings and Leavings — It's what's left when budget officials collect unspent funds in agencies. Or when the numbers get rounded in the budget, or any of several other things are done to find "spare change" in the budget, which can add up to millions. Similar to finding loose change in a sofa, only with more zeros.
Unlock the machines — What the chamber leader says before members vote on a bill. The "unlocking" allows members to have their vote registered.
Vehicle — A piece of legislation used by lawmakers to carry another measure they really want to pass. The bill they want to pass gets amended onto the vehicle, which is often minor legislation.
Well — The front of House and Senate chambers where lawmakers speak on bills or amendments.
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