Assembly

Chapter 12:
MISCELLANEOUS

ar95 Assembly Rule 95. Definitions. The following are definitions of the major terms used in the assembly rules or traditionally used in deliberations on the floor.

ar95(1) (1) Act: A bill that has passed both houses of the legislature, been enrolled, and been approved by the governor or passed over the governor's veto, or that becomes law without the signature of the governor, and published.

ar95(2) (2) Adjourn: To conclude a legislative day's business [see also sub. (79)].

ar95(3) (3) Adoption: Approval of a motion, amendment, substitute amendment, simple resolution, or joint resolution.

ar95(4) (4) 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.

ar95(5) (5) 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.

ar95(6) (6) Assembly chamber: The entire area west of the easternmost doors of the assembly, including the visitor's galleries, lobbies, offices of the speaker and minority leader, and hallways.

ar95(7) (7) Bill: A proposed change of law originating in either house, requiring passage by one house and concurrence of the other house of the legislature and approval of the governor, or passage notwithstanding the objections of the governor by a two-thirds vote in each house, or that becomes law without the signature of the governor, before becoming effective.

ar95(8) (8) Calendar: The assembly agenda for any legislative day.

ar95(9) (9) Call of the assembly or “call of the house.": A procedure for requiring the attendance of absent members.

ar95(10) (10) Certificate or “citation.": A formal legislative document of commendation, congratulations, or condolences.

ar95(11) (11) Chair: The position that the presiding officer fills.

ar95(12) (12) Chief clerk: The assembly officer elected to perform and direct the clerical and personnel functions of the assembly.

ar95(13) (13) Committee chairperson: The head of a committee.

ar95(14) (14) Committee executive action: The action of a committee on any proposal.

ar95(15) (15) Committee of the whole: The assembly membership organized in committee for the discussion of a specific matter.

ar95(16) (16) Concurrence: The action by which one house agrees to a proposal or action of the other house.

ar95(17) (17) Conference committee: A committee of representatives to the assembly and of senators, appointed to resolve differences on a specific proposal.

ar95(18) (18) Contested seat: An assembly district in which 2 or more persons claim the right to represent the district.

ar95(20) (20) Current membership: The members of the assembly, omitting those who have resigned, have been removed, or have died.

ar95(22) (22) Dilatory: To delay.

ar95(23) (23) Division of the question: To break a question into 2 or more separate propositions.

ar95(24) (24) Elected membership: The members of the assembly, certified as elected in the last general election, including those who have subsequently resigned, have been removed, or have died.

ar95(25) (25) Engrossed proposal: A proposal incorporating all adopted amendments and all approved technical corrections in the house of origin, whether or not it is reproduced as engrossed.

ar95(26) (26) Enrolled proposal: A proposal that was passed, or adopted, and concurred in, incorporating any amendments and corrections that were approved by both houses.

ar95(27) (27) Expunge: To remove material from the record and, thus, undo some assembly action.

ar95(27m) (27m) Extraordinary session: The convening of the legislature by the assembly and senate committees on organization 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.

ar95(28) (28) Fiscal estimate: A memorandum pursuant to joint rules 41 to 49, explaining the impact of a bill on state or local finances.

ar95(29) (29) Floor of the assembly: That portion of the assembly chamber that is reserved for members, assembly officers, and persons granted the privilege of the floor.

ar95(30) (30) 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.

ar95(31) (31) Germaneness: The relevance or appropriateness of amendments.

ar95(32) (32) Hearing: A committee meeting at which the public is invited to testify on a proposal or issue.

ar95(33) (33) History: A record of actions on any given proposal.

ar95(33m) (33m) 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.

ar95(34) (34) Incidental motions and requests: A group of motions and requests that generally relates to the proceedings, procedures, and subsidiary questions during debate, and that 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.

ar95(35) (35) Indefinite postponement: A motion to kill a proposal in its house of origin for a legislative session.

ar95(36) (36) Introduction: The formal presentation of a bill before the assembly.

ar95(37) (37) Joint convention, also called joint session: A joint meeting of the senate and the assembly.

ar95(38) (38) Joint hearing: A hearing held by committees of both houses.

ar95(39) (39) 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.

ar95(40) (40) Joint rules: The common rules of procedure adopted by both houses.

ar95(41) (41) Journal: The official publication of the assembly.

ar95(42) (42) Leave: Permission to be absent from the assembly.

ar95(43) (43) Legislative day: Any day on which the legislature is in session.

ar95(44) (44) 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.

ar95(45) (45) Majority: One more than one-half.

ar95(46) (46) Manual: The publication containing the rules of the assembly, the joint rules, the session schedule, the state constitution, alphabetical indexes, and other materials considered relevant to a representative's job.

ar95(47) (47) Member: A duly elected representative to the assembly.

ar95(48) (48) Members present: Those members in attendance at a daily session.

ar95(49) (49) Motion: A proposed action requiring assembly approval by a vote.

ar95(50) (50) Nonconcurrence: The refusal of one house to agree to a proposal, amendment, or action of the other.

ar95(50m) (50m) Offer: The formal presentation of a joint resolution, resolution, substitute amendment, amendment, or motion before the assembly.

ar95(51) (51) Opinion of the attorney general: A formal reply by the attorney general to a specific question.

ar95(52) (52) Pair: A written agreement between 2 members on opposite sides of a question not to vote on the question if one or both are absent with leave, which permits the absent member to influence the outcome of a vote.

ar95(53) (53) Parliamentary inquiry: A request for an explanation of a legislative rule or procedure.

ar95(53m) (53m) Partisan caucus: A conference convened by 2 or more members of a political party to discuss business related to the organization or agenda of that party within the legislature or to discuss any matter pending in or proposed for introduction in the legislature. To facilitate bipartisan leadership meetings, a partisan caucus may also include a conference convened by the members of the elected leadership of one political party with the members of the elected leadership of another political party.

ar95(54) (54) Passage: Assembly approval of an assembly bill.

ar95(55) (55) Petition: A request that the assembly take a particular course of action.

ar95(56) (56) Point of order: A request that the presiding officer rule on a matter of parliamentary procedure.

ar95(57) (57) Precedent: A previous ruling, decision, or action used to interpret legislative rules.

ar95(57m) (57m) Presiding officer: The person presiding over the assembly in session. [see also subs. (11), (80), and (81)]

ar95(59) (59) 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 and having the highest precedence for consideration. Privileged motions and requests take precedence over incidental, subsidiary, and main questions.

ar95(60) (60) Proposal: A resolution, joint resolution, or bill put before the assembly for consideration.

ar95(61) (61) Question: A statement before the assembly for decision.

ar95(62) (62) Quorum: A majority of the current assembly membership, unless otherwise required by the state constitution.

ar95(63) (63) Recess: A temporary suspension of business during a roll call day.

ar95(64) (64) Reconsideration: A motion to nullify a decision and again consider and vote on the question involved.

ar95(65) (65) Regular order of business: The regular sequence of deliberations on any legislative day.

ar95(66) (66) 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, to select officers, and to organize itself for the conduct of its business, but if the first Monday falls on January 1 or 2, the legislature organizes on January 3. Daily meetings begin in January of each year and continue throughout the biennium until the final adjournment of the session. “Session" is also often used to refer to the daily meetings of the legislature.

ar95(67) (67) 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.

ar95(68) (68) Remain informal: A temporary suspension of proceedings in the assembly.

ar95(69) (69) Request: A proposed action that 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 requested action.

ar95(70) (70) Rescind: An action by which the assembly nullifies an action on a proposal so as to enable the assembly to again consider a proposal from a given stage. When a motion to rescind prevails, the assembly resumes its consideration of a proposal at the stage indicated in the motion.

ar95(71) (71) Resolution, assembly: A proposal: a) expressing the opinion of the assembly; b) changing the assembly rules; or c) confirming a nomination for appointment under rule 51m.

ar95(73) (73) Roll call day: A legislative day on which any roll call is taken.

ar95(74) (74) Roll call vote: A vote on which each member voting is recorded by name.

ar95(75) (75) Rules of procedure: The legislative rules that govern the conduct of legislative business.

ar95(76) (76) Ruling: The presiding officer's decision on a point of order.

ar95(78) (78) Sergeant at arms: The officer elected by the members to perform and direct the police and custodial functions of the assembly.

ar95(79) (79) Sine die adjournment: The final adjournment of a legislative session.

ar95(80) (80) Speaker: A member of the assembly elected by the membership to preside over the assembly and carry out the duties as described in the assembly rules, the joint rules, and the statutes.

ar95(81) (81) Speaker pro tempore: A member of the assembly elected by the membership to carry out the duties of the speaker in his or her absence until the return of the speaker or until a speaker is elected.

ar95(82) (82) 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.

ar95(83) (83) Special order of business: Any proposal ordered by the assembly to be given consideration at a specified time and taking precedence over the regular orders of business at that time.

ar95(84) (84) Special session: The convening of the legislature by the governor to accomplish a special purpose for which convened.

ar95(85) (85) Stage: One of the formal steps in the legislative process.

ar95(86) (86) Standing committee: A permanent legislative committee.