This entry is not designed to pick on Dan Kane, who does a nice job covering government issues. But he’s also the latest reporter to remind me of one of my pet peeves regarding legislative coverage.
Kane reports this morning that “State House members gave tentative approval Wednesday to a $21.3 billion budget proposal….”
Those who follow the General Assembly know what Dan and other reporters mean when they talk about “tentative approval,” but that’s not really what the House did. Instead the House took the first of two required votes on the budget bill.
Use of the word “tentative” implies that House members were unsure about their support for the bill or that there’s a strong chance they’ll change their minds today. While it’s entirely possible that a bill that passes the first vote (known as the “second reading”) will never see a second vote (“third reading”) or will fail on that second vote, that doesn’t make the first vote tentative.
With a 102-12 vote on the House budget, it’s pretty safe to guess the bill will get substantial support again today.
By the way, some people wonder why some bills get this “tentative approval” and others don’t. While admitting that I am not an expert on legislative procedure, I can tell you that most legislation requires three “readings” in both the House and Senate to become law.
The first reading occurs when the bill is filed or when it arrives from the other chamber. The second and third readings are the votes. In most cases, lawmakers hold the second and third readings at the same time. Bills involving taxes or money usually require separate readings on separate days. (This requirement was part of the basis for the lottery lawsuit.) Bills can also require a separate second vote if a senator or representative objects to holding both votes at the same time.
