Say what? A guide to legislative language

Anyone who’s ever been to Carson City or seen a legislative hearing on TV knows that lawmakers speak a language all their own. And sometimes, that can make following legislative proceedings difficult to follow.

As we continue our countdown to the first day of the 2015 session, here’s a brief glossary of legislative terms that will help regular humans understand what’s being talked about by their elected representatives. (Legislative vets, feel free to make suggestions for words or phrases I’ve missed by emailing me at SSebelius@reviewjournal.com.)

120-day calendar: A list of dates during the 120-day session that includes deadlines for moving legislation, finishing working on budgets, receiving a report from the Economic Forum and ending the session on time.

Across the courtyard: The governor’s office, which is in the Capitol building, on the other side of a courtyard from the legislative building. The state Supreme Court’s building fronts onto that same courtyard.

Adele’s: The nicest restaurant in Carson City, it lies several blocks north of the Capitol. Delicious, albeit pricey, meals and an extensive wine list make it popular with lobbyists and attorneys on expense accounts. Even a few lowly members of the Fourth Estate have been known to sample the cuisine on occasion.

Bar of the Assembly: (Not that kind of bar!) This is the dividing line at the doorway to the Assembly chambers that divides the public area from the Assembly floor. It’s where distinguished guests and visitors wait for introduction to the body, as when the sergeant-at-arms calls out, “Mr. Speaker, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is at the bar of the Assembly!”

Bella: Short for Bella Fiore, a wine shop on Carson Street not far from the legislative building popular with lobbyists for after-hours libations. It’s a quick jog back to the building in case a hearing goes bad or a deal is falling apart, and the wine selection isn’t bad, either.

BDR: Bill draft request. It’s the embryonic form of a bill before it’s drafted into legal form by the LCB.

Blue badge: A paid lobbyist. It refers to the blue badges formerly issued by the Legislative Police to lobbyists, who must registered and wear their badge in the legislative building. (Today, those badges are white with a blue stripe.) Members of the press — just to show somebody in Carson City has a sense of humor — wear yellow badges.

Caucus: A noun and a verb. The noun form refers to a grouping of lawmakers by party and house, as in the Senate Democratic caucus, or the Republican Assembly caucus. The verb form refers to a meeting of a party caucus to discuss a strategic approach to a bill or a parliamentary procedure, as in “The Republicans are going to caucus to decide how to handle SB 1000 on the floor.”

Colleagues down the hall: The way in which Assembly members and state senators refer to each other occasionally; the Senate and Assembly chambers are on opposite sides of the legislative building, separated by a long hallway. During the closing hours of the session, that corridor can become busy as lobbyists walk (or often run) between the two houses trying to work out last-minute details on bills.

Colleague from District X: By custom, lawmakers don’t refer to each other by name while in session, preferring the more formal reference to their district number. It’s usually preceded by a pause, since no lawmaker really remembers another’s district number, so you hear something like this: “I’d like to thank my colleague from … District 12 for his remarks on my bill.”

Committee of the Whole: The full Assembly or Senate, meeting as a committee under less formal rules than a regular floor session.

Conference committee: Committees comprised of members from both houses who meet to work out differences between Senate and Assembly versions of legislation.

Closing budgets: The process whereby money committees wrap up work on spending bills. This process this year ill begin March 31.

Do pass: A motion made by a committee to send a bill back to the Senate or Assembly floor with a recommendation to approve the legislation. (Other motions including “amend and do pass,” to approve an amended version of a bill, or “re-refer,” which sends a bill from one committee to another before it’s sent back to the full Assembly or Senate.)

Engross: To prepare a bill with all amendments for its final reading and approval on the floor of each house.

Enroll: A final printing of a bill as approved by both houses for presentation to the governor for his signature or veto.

Firkin: The Firkin and Fox, a restaurant and bar on Carson Street directly across from the Legislative building, popular due to its proximity. It’s got a fairly good beer selection, not that journalists would imbibe such substances while working, of course.

Fiscal note: A notice that a particular bill will create a cost to the state or local government. Bills that get fiscal notes must generally be heard by so-called money committees.

General file: A list of bills that have been introduced, heard in committee and are ready for a final vote on the Assembly or Senate floor.

Globe: Shorthand for the Old Globe, a long-standing small bar on Curry Street that’s an old-school hangout for lawmakers and lobbyists.

Hijack: To amend a bill by deleting all its original language and replacing it with your preferred text, sometimes done late in the session after deadlines in which the text of a dead bill is amended into one that survived.

Jimmy G’s: A notorious Carson Street cigar bar that also offers karaoke. It typically features a dizzying miasma of lobbyists and lawmakers from Las Vegas and Carson City residents warily eying each other. (For cigar smoking uninterrupted by loud music, i.e. a place more conducive to legislative wheeling and dealing, head to Carson Cigar Co.)

Lay the bill on the chief clerk (or secretary’s) desk: A procedural tactic to either kill a bill or to delay passage until it can be amended. Generally, a bill that has made it through introduction, committee hearings and votes can be laid upon the chief clerk’s desk (in the Assembly) or the secretary’s desk (in the state Senate) at the motion of a member. Bills that remain on the desk by a deadline or at the end of the session die without a vote.

LCB: The Legislative Counsel Bureau, the Legislature’s professional staff. It’s comprised of several divisions, the most prominent of which are legal (which drafts bills, advises committees and represents the Legislature in legal matters) and fiscal (which analyzes budget bills for their fiscal impact and assists lawmakers in crafting their version of the state budget). The research division is legendary for being able to answer almost any question. It’s headed by Rick Combs, a former fiscal analyst.

Legislative digest: A brief summary of how a bill changes existing state law that’s printed at the top of each bill that’s introduced in the legislature. It’s a very helpful guide to the effects of a bill written in plain language that doesn’t require a law degree to decipher.

Money committee: The Assembly Ways & Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee, which review all state spending and control how money is spent. While policy committees (think Transportation, Education or Commerce & Labor) may pass bills, if those bills call for spending money, they have to be heard by a money committee.

NELIS: An acronym for the Nevada Electronic Legislative Information System, where bills, amendments and supporting documents are uploaded so lawmakers and the public can follow along during hearings. It’s accessible via the Nevada Legislature’s incredibly great website, which has information about bills, lawmakers, committee hearings, and even a gift shop.

One-minute recess: A break in the proceedings that could last from between one minute to several hours, depending on the cause of the delay.

One-shots: Expenditures earmarked for a single project, often passed in a single bill toward the end of a session.

People’s house: The Assembly, as described by its members, since they are more numerous and elected more frequently than their colleagues in the Senate.

Privilege of the floor: Allowing a non-lawmaker to sit in the Assembly or Senate chambers during floor sessions, usually extended to a person who is the guest of a lawmaker. Ex-lawmakers, even those who now work as lobbyists, continue to have the privilege of the floor in the individual house (or houses) in which they’ve served.

Recede: When one house abandons a proposed amendment after the other house refuses to accept it.

Red’s: Shorthand for Red’s Old 395 Grill, a barbecue joint a short walk from the legislative building. It’s known for its beer selection, and the Fellowship of the 101, a club for people who have sampled all 101 available brews. Earning membership in a single legislative session is often discussed but rarely attempted without consequence.

Resolution: A document that sets forth the opinion of one house of the Legislature on a given topic. It is adopted by majority vote and doesn’t require the approval of the governor like a regular bill. (“Concurrent resolutions” establish the opinion of both houses of the Legislature, and “joint resolutions” are used to urge the federal government to take action on a specific topic or, in rare instances, to adopt an amendment to the U.S. Constitution.)

Sine die: Latin words translated literally to mean, “without a date.” It’s when the Legislature adjourns for the final time in a given session, “without a date” to reconvene.

Third House: A mildly amusing comedic performance staged by members of the press toward the end of the session that dates to the days of Mark Twain.

Timbers: Carson City’s most popular dive bar. It’s slightly less healthy than an un-immunized visit to Disneyland.