Skip to main content Skip to office menu Skip to footer
Capital IconMinnesota Legislature
Skip Navigation Links > >

Glossary for the Numerical Index of the House and Senate Journals

First Reading and Reference

The number listed in this column refers to the Journal page which provides the date the bill was introduced and the committee to which it was referred. Write down the name of the committee.

Second Reading

The number listed in this column refers to the Journal page that provides the date by which the committee hearings have occurred. Usually, you won't need to look at the page listed in this column since the information provided is not generally useful in determining legislative intent.

Other Proceedings

The numbers listed in this column refer to the Journal pages that have information about amendments, bill substitutions, author deletions and additions, general orders, etc. Information you need to find from these pages is committee re-referrals and floor amendments. Write down the date from the top of the page if there's reference to an amendment on the floor that is pertinent to the legislation that you're researching. You may also notice page numbers in this column with a lower case "a" or "s" beside them. The "a" indicates that an amendment is being reported on that page. An "s" indicates that the companion bill was substituted. If a substitution has occurred, go to the Companion Bill Index in the Journal in order to find the companion bill number.

Third Reading and Passage

The numbers listed in this column refer to the Journal pages that provide the date(s) on which the bill was debated and/or a vote was taken on the floor. Write down the date at the top of the page since you may want to listen to the tape recording of this floor session.

Returned from Senate

The numbers listed in this column refer to the Journal pages that show the date the bill was returned after passage by the other body. Usually, you won't need to look at the pages listed in this column since the information provided is not generally useful in determining legislative intent.

Subsequent Proceedings

The numbers listed in this column refer to the Journal pages that provide conference committee information and amendments. If a number in this column is followed by a "c" or an "*" this indicates the page on which the conference committee report, or the conference committee's final bill, begins. It is important to note whether or not the bill was sent to a conference committee because the recordings of the conference committees may be pertinent to your research.

Approved

The number listed in this column refers to the Journal page that shows the date the Governor signed or vetoed the bill. Usually, you won't need to look at the page listed in this column since the information provided is not generally useful in determining legislative intent.

General Laws Chapter and Year

The numbers listed in this column are not page numbers. They refer to the chapter number assigned to the law and the year the law passed. General Laws are also referred to as Minnesota session laws and Laws of Minnesota.

Back to Minnesota Legislative History Step-By-Step