Ohio Legislative History Guide
Glossary of Terms
- Baldwin's Legislative Service
Baldwin's Legislative Service (available on Westlaw)Annotated contains the laws enacted by
the Ohio General Assembly. Also included: Status Report of Legislation;
Current Amendments to the Constitution, Rules of Practice and Procedure,
and other court rules; Case notes and Journal references; Tables of
Laws enacted (listed by Bill #, Revised Code section, and Court Rules).
- Bill
A bill is simply a proposed law. In Ohio, bills can originate from either
the Senate or the House of Representatives. As each bill is introduced
in the General Assembly, they are numbered consecutively and abbreviated
HB or SB to indicate its house of origin (e.g., HB for House Bill & SB
for Senate Bill). If the introduced bill is amended or substituted,
the notation "Am." Or "Sub." will be added to the bill number (e.g.
H.B 3, or Am. H.B. 3, or Am. Sub. H.B. 3). **Note that the bill number
remains unchanged. Bills that do not pass in the two-year General Assembly
must be re-introduced into the next General Assembly with a new bill
number. It should also be noted that although House and Senate bills
that share the same bill number may be companion to one another, that
might not always be the case (e.g., HB 3 is not the same SB 3). **
- Bill Files
A bill file typically contains various versions of a particular bill,
a synopsis of committee amendments, committee reports, testimony, fiscal
notes, and local impact statements. Bill files are compiled by the
Legislative Service Commission and housed at the Ohio Historical Society.
- Bulletin, The
Provides the title and actions taken on every bill introduced in either
house of the General Assembly.
- Committee Reports
As a bill works its way through the legislative process, it will be assigned
to a standing committee. If the committee reports the legislation back
to the full House/Senate, it will issues a committee report. Typically,
reports are not available before 1989. Available reports can be found
in the Bill file or online at Ohio Capital Connection.
- Digest of Enactments (Formerly Summary of Enactments)
Provides a summary of all bills that have been enacted by the General
Assembly.
- Fiscal Note
Prepared by the Legislative Service Commission, fiscal notes discuss
the fiscal implication of the proposed legislation (i.e., how each
bill will monetarily affect a community).
- House and Senate Journals
The House and Senate Journals are the official printed records of the
activities of the Ohio General Assembly. The respective Clerk's office
prints the journals on the day following each session day. The text
of floor amendments are included in the Journal, but not bills, reports,
or debates. The Journal is bound at the end of the Assembly. The Bulletin
is reprinted in its index.
- Laws of Ohio
This publication contains all the laws passed by the Ohio General Assembly.
Vetoed bills, as well as the uncodified laws (those laws which are
not permanent in nature and not codified in the Revised Code) are also
included.
- Legislative Services Commission (LSC) Bill Analysis
The Legislative Service Commission produces an analysis for bills scheduled
for a committee hearing in either the Ohio Senate or Ohio House of
Representatives. Each analysis gives the reader a summation of the
proposed legislation. As a bill moves through the House and the Senate,
the bill's analysis is updated to reflect any changes. After a bill
passes both the House and the Senate, LSC prepares a final analysis.
Analyses are an excellent source for determining legislative intent.
- Ohio Report
Gongwer's daily Ohio Report provides detailed coverage of every bill in the General Assembly and closely tracks the intricate workings of the executive and judicial branches.
- Session Law
The term session law refers to an enactment of the Ohio General Assembly.
They are officially published in the Laws of Ohio. The Laws of Ohio
contains all the laws passed by the Ohio General Assembly. Vetoed bills,
as well as the uncodified laws (those laws which are not permanent
in nature and not codified in the Revised Code) are also included.
Session laws are also located in Baldwin's Ohio Legislative Service,
the General Assembly's website, and Ohio Capital Connection.
- Session Law Citation
The Session Law Citation is located in the history section of both commercial
versions of the Ohio Revised Code (i.e., Page's Ohio Revised Code Annotated
and Baldwin's Ohio Revised Code Annotated). See Example.
- Status Report of Legislation
The Ohio Legislative Service Commission compiles the Status Report of
Legislation. The Status Report lists the action taken on a bill or
resolution as it works its way through the Ohio General Assembly.
- Summary of Enactments
Provides a summary of all bills that have been enacted by the General
Assembly.
- Weekly Report (formerly the Hannah Report) is a daily newsletter from Ohio Capital Connection covering political activity in
Ohio. Each newsletter contains pertinent information assessing a particular
bill's impact and intent. Committee reports, Senate and House testimony,
and relevant news articles are included.
