Glossary

An amendment changes the Constitution itself. Congress proposes one, and three quarters of the states have to ratify it before it takes effect.

It has been introduced in Congress. Two thirds of both the House and the Senate have to vote for it before it can go anywhere.

Used for: Change to the US Constitution

United States's record says: Proposed in Congress

Congress approved it and sent it to the state legislatures. Thirty-eight states - three quarters of them - have to ratify it.

Used for: Change to the US Constitution

United States's record says: Before the states for ratification

Enough states ratified it, so it is part of the Constitution and every state is bound by it.

Used for: Change to the US Constitution

United States's record says: Ratified

Congress sent it to the states and not enough of them ratified it, so it never took effect.

Used for: Change to the US Constitution

United States's record says: Failed ratification

It was ratified, and a later amendment cancelled it. Prohibition is the one this happened to.

Used for: Change to the US Constitution

United States's record says: Ratified, later repealed

Where the government's money comes from and where it goes: budgets, taxes, borrowing, and contracts with outside companies.

Rules about how people are treated and protected, including discrimination, immigration status, and getting services in your own language.

Schools and the people in them, from early childhood programs through high school, plus after-school and youth programs.

Air, water, waste, and energy, and how the government prepares for heat, flooding, and storms.

How the government runs itself: elections, public records, ethics rules, and the way decisions get made.

Public health and the services people rely on, including mental health care, disability services, food access, and help for people in crisis.

Where people live and what gets built: rent, tenants' rights, zoning, construction, and neighborhood planning.

Jobs and the rules around them: pay, working conditions, hiring, benefits, and job training.

Libraries, arts funding, cultural programs, historic buildings, and community events.

Parks, playgrounds, trees, and the outdoor places anyone can use.

Police, fire, and emergency response, and the programs meant to prevent violence before it happens.

Running a business here: permits, licenses, street vending, restaurants and bars, and the rules they operate under.

The technology the government buys and uses, what it does with data about people, and the rules on surveillance.

Getting around: buses and trains, roads and sidewalks, traffic safety, parking, and bike lanes.

A small group of members that examines one subject in detail before the whole body votes on it. Most proposals spend most of their life in committee, and most of the ones that never become law end there.

A public meeting where a committee takes testimony on a subject before deciding what to do about it. Anyone can normally sign up to speak, and what is said becomes part of the public record.

Also called: Public hearing

What someone says at a hearing, out loud or in writing. You do not have to be an expert or a resident of anywhere in particular to give it.

The government's own reference for one item, like 2026-0451. It is how the city's records refer to it, and it is what to quote if you contact someone about it.

Also called: Docket · File number

The member who formally puts a proposal forward. Sponsoring something is not the same as voting for it later, and several members can sponsor the same item together.

A change to the wording of a proposal while it is still being considered. Amending something is not the same as passing it: the amended version still has to be voted on.

Readings are numbered stages a proposal passes through on its way to a final vote. Nothing is read aloud - the number only says how far along it is.

Also called: First reading · Second reading · Third reading

A vote by every member of the body rather than by one of its committees. This is normally the vote that decides whether something passes.

Also called: The floor

A vote where each member is named in turn and their answer written down, so you can look up how any one of them voted.

Also called: Recorded vote

The number of members who have to be present before the body is allowed to vote on anything. Below it, a meeting can talk but cannot decide.

The mayor, governor, or president refusing to approve something the lawmaking body passed. It stops there unless the body overrides it.

A second vote that puts something into effect over a veto. It takes a larger majority than the first vote did, which is why most vetoes stand.

Also called: Veto override

The stretch of time a body works in, usually a year or two, before the next one begins. Anything not passed by the end of a session dies and has to be filed again from the start.

Also called: Legislative session