Definitons of Various Legislative Terms

• Inexpedient to Legislate - This is a committee recommendation that the full body should not consider the bill at all. With some exceptions, this terminates the bill from any further consideration, i.e., it "kills" the bill.
• Ought to Pass- This is a committee recommendation that the full body should approve the bill as written.
• Ought to Pass as Amended - This is a committee recommendation that the full body should approve the committee’s amended version of the bill.
• Refer to Interim Study - This is a committee recommendation that the bill requires further study by the committee before the full body addresses it. If the full body agrees, the committee is then given a period of months to study the bill and make recommendations.
• Rereferred - This is a committee recommendation that the bill be sent back its original committee for further consideration and possible amendment. A rereferred bill can end up being retained by the committee from one legislative session to another.
• Retained in Committee - This term means that a committee has decided to hold on to the bill and not produce a committee report for the full body to vote on so that they can continue to work on the bill to provide a report for the next session.