One of the more difficult aspects of following news about the
Legislature is making sense out of the peculiar vernacular of the
Capitol.
Legislators and lobbyists speak in strange tongues about “fiscal
notes” and “legislative declarations” – and in acronyms, like JBC,
CDC or FTE. This uninspiring syntax gives Legislators an
unparalleled ability to cure insomnia.
For those who diligently brave news reports to keep tabs on
their elected officials, the following plain-English translation of
legislative lingo may be helpful:
Capitol construction: the portion of the budget used to fund
government buildings, including colleges; sometimes includes
highway construction.
Capitol Development Committee: the committee which prioritizes
the capitol construction budget; comprised much like the
JBC.
Chamber: refers to either the House or the Senate.
Conference committee: when a bill passes both the House and
Senate but includes different amendments from each chamber, the
bill often goes to conference where three members from each chamber
attempt to resolve the differences.
Committee of the Whole: when a bill passes committee, it must be
passed by the entire Senate or House acting as the committee of the
whole; during this phase, debate and amendments are unlimited and
votes of individual members are not recorded unless specifically
requested.
Declaration, also, legislative declaration: a preface included
in some bills to explain the intent of the legislation.
Fiscal note – an analysis provided by legislative council to
describe the impact that passage of a bill would have on the state
budget.
FTE: full-time employees or full-time equivalent; the number
government employees required by a particular program or
department.
General fund: the largest part of the budget; funds the
day-to-day operations of state government; consists mostly of state
income tax, sales tax and property tax revenues.
JBC (Joint Budget Committee): a “super committee” that writes
the budget bill; consists of three senators and three
representatives; the majority party in each chamber appoints two
members, and the minority party in each chamber appoints
one.
Legislative Council: non-partisan research staff that serves the
Legislature and staffs committee meetings.
Legislative Legal Services, Office of (OLLS): the staff of
attorneys that helps legislators turn their ideas into bills and
provides legal research.
Long bill: the budget bill; contains more pages than any other
bill.
P.I. (postpone indefinitely): a motion to kill a bill.
Second Reading: see “committee of the whole.”
Set-asides: money sometimes designated in the budget to pay for
bills proposing one-time expenditures.
Special interests: organizations interested in a specific set of
issues (e.g., environment, abortion, gun-owners rights) when used
objectively; however, most often used disparagingly to refer to any
group with which the speaker or writer disagrees.
Stakeholder: any group which has an obvious stake in a
particular bill or issue; a politically-correct term for “special
interest.”
Strike-below: an amendment which completely re-writes the
bill.
Sunset review: regulation of certain professions (e.g.,
veterinarians, optometrists) must be reviewed by the Legislature,
usually every 10 years, at which time the regulations must be
re-enacted or they are automatically repealed.
Surplus (also “TABOR surplus”) – taxes collected by the state
which exceed the TABOR limit and, therefore, must be refunded to
taxpayers. This money can only be spent if authorized by a vote of
the people.
TABOR (Taxpayers Bill of Rights): a constitutional provision
which limits the growth in state government spending to a
percentage equal to inflation plus population growth.
Third reading – final recorded vote on a bill, after which the
bill goes to the other chamber, or to a conference committee, or to
the governor.
Sen. Mark Hillman, R-Burlington, is a wheat farmer who
represents 12 counties in eastern Colorado. He serves on the Senate
Agriculture committee and is the Senate Majority Leader. He can be
reached via e-mail at mark.hillman.senate@state.co.us or visit
www.markhillman.com