The following is a list of Georgia political parlance:
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: When a legislator "retires" on the advice of his family for having a little too much fun in Atlanta.
Catfish: Old-school term for a bill that loses its meat, or any power, in the amendment process. Also known as being gutted. Used to be known as being Grooverized, in honor of former longtime lawmaker Denmark Groover, a Macon attorney who was an expert at filleting bills.
Cease all audible conversation: Means shut 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 violent slamming of the gavel.
Conference committee: A six-member committee of three House members and three senators, appointed by the House speaker and the lieutenant governor to reconcile 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.
Devotional: The sermon lawmakers get before they start business each day, usually from a Protestant preacher.
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.
Fiscal year: The year covered by the state's budget, July 1 to June 30.
Gentleman from, lady from: How lawmakers refer to one another 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.
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.
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 tem, majority leader and their designees. In the House, it's generally the speaker, speaker pro tem, 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.
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 enables them to spend less or more money on a program. "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.
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 war to the history of bond ratings in Georgia.
PORK: Or Project of Regional Concern (PORC). Project put into the budget to help one area or legislator. Used to be small grants for ballfield lights, band uniforms, small-town park improvements, etc. Most of those were eliminated with the recession. Now it's more likely to be a bond project, with the state borrowing money for construction or improvements.
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.
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 are never seen again.
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.
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. See: Christmas tree.
Well: The front of House and Senate chambers where lawmakers speak on bills or amendments.
James Salzer
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