Bill Status Definitions in Plural

Gain a quick understanding of the current status of a bill with Plural's bill status labels.

Plural displays the status of a bill in several different places:

1. In the list of bill search results, in your list of tracked bills or your list of tagged bills. You can also filter by bill status in searching for a bill.

 

2. Within the "DETAILS" tab of a bill page:

While there may be slight variances between jurisdictions, below are brief descriptions of how Plural generally defines each of the displayed statuses:

• Introduced: A bill was introduced in a state or Congressional committee.
• Passed Upper: A bill was voted affirmatively by the Senate or Upper Chamber.
• Passed Lower: A bill was voted affirmatively by the House or Lower Chamber.
• Passed/Passed Both: A bill that was voted affirmatively by both chambers of the legislature.
• Signed by Governor: A bill that was signed into law by the Governor. This could have either come to the Governor's desk after passage by the legislature, or it could be another kind of legislation, such as a proclamation, appointment, etc.
• Became Law: The bill became law. Note: while generally speaking everything that has been "Signed by Governor" becomes law, there may be instances when a bill is not signed by the Governor and becomes law via a different process.
• Vetoed: A bill that was voted affirmatively by both chambers of the legislature was then vetoed by the governor.

Select jurisdictions may also display these additional bill statuses:

• Second Reading: A bill has been sent by a committee to its originating chamber where any member has the opportunity to amend the bill.
• Third Reading: A bill's final reading before it is voted on by the full chamber.
• Referred to Committee: A bill has been referred to a committee to review.