MoStuGovHelping Missouri students get the most out of State Government
MoStuGovHouse of Representatives: There are 163 districts represented in the Missouri House. House members serve two-year terms.and are limited to serving eight years in the House. To be eligible to run for a seat in the House, a candidate must be 24 years old or older, a qualified Missouri voter for two years, and a qualified voter in the district they are running to represent. Missouri House members make an annual salary of $31,351.44.
Senate: The upper chamber of the General Assembly. Thirty-four senators make up in Missouri Senate (in 2007 there are 21 Republicans and 13 Democrats). Term limits confine senators to serve for eight years (two four-year terms) and half the seats are up for election every two years. The annual salary of a senator is about $31,350.
House or Senate Bill: A measure to change an existing law, create a new law, or repeal an existing law.
House or Senate Joint Resolution: A measure that would change the state's Constitution. The legislative process for a joint resolution is the same as a bill, but it does not go to the governor. It has to be approved by Missouri voters in order for it to take effect.
Appropriation Bill: A bill that determines the distribution of state money to various agencies and departments in the state.
Amendment: A change or addition made to a bill. An amendment can be offered during debate or in committee.
Veto: The governor has the power to veto any bill passed by lawmakers. The legislature can override a gubernatorial veto by a 2/3 vote in both the House and the Senate.
Line Item Veto: Unlike the federal government, Missouri's gives its chief executive a special kind of veto power over appropriations bills. The line item veto power allows the governor to reduce or entirely eliminate specific spending lines in an appropriations bill. Like a regular veto, a line item veto can be overridden by the legislature with a 2/3 vote.
Veto Session: A session held by the General Assembly to override any vetoes made by the governor. A veto session is held in September, can consider only vetoes by the governor and usually last just one or two days.
Sponsor: The person who introduces a bill and has control over the legislation.
Co-sponsor/Co-signer: A bill sponsor can ask other members in the chamber to support his/her bill by asking them to co-sign or support a bill.
Lobbyist: An individual who attempts to change or impact legislation to favor the interests of his or her association/place of work. Missouri law requires lobbyists to register with the state and to report how much the spend on individual legislators.
Simple Majority: 50% plus one when voting "yea" or "nay" on a proposal. Example: if 100 people are present in a chamber 51 would have to vote the same way to fulfill a simple majority.
Constitutional Majority: Some votes require a majority of all the seats in the chamber. In the House it is 82 votes and 18 votes in the Senate.
Emergency Clause: A line in a bill that makes it take effect immediately upon signature by the governor. An emergency clause requires a 2/3 vote of the House and Senate to be attached to a bill. Without an emergency clause, a bill normally will go into effect 90 days after the session.
Filibuster: Extended debate in the Senate designed to postpone or stop a vote to be taken.
Calendar: A list of bills in the order they are scheduled to be discussed in the chamber.
Fiscal Note: An estimate prepared by legislative staff on how much state and local revenue a proposed bill will cost.
General Revenue: State revenue that has not been allocated by a law or constitutional provision and thus can be allocated as the legislature desires. A major portion of the state's budget is allocated by law or constitution and thus is beyond the legislature's control -- such as the gasoline tax that is dedicated for transportation.
Majority Party: The political party that holds the most numbers of seats in either the House or the Senate. Republicans are currently the majority party in both the House and Senate.
Minority Party: the party holding less than the majority of seat in a chamber. The Democrats are currently the minority part in both the House and Senate.
Session: The time when the legislature meets. The Missouri legislature meets from early January to mid-May. If a session is held during an odd numbered year is refereed to as the first regular, even-year sessions are called second regular sessions.
Special Session: A session called by the governor or 2/3 of the General Assembly not during the regular scheduled time to discuss a specific topic. In 2005 Gov. Blunt called special session specifically to pass legislation placing restrictions on abortions in the state.