Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes > Chapter 120 > Article 17 - Confidentiality of Legislative Communications

• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Committee substitute: Short for committee amendment in the nature of a substitute.
• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• Conference committee: A temporary, ad hoc panel composed of conferees from both chamber of a legislature which is formed for the purpose of reconciling differences in legislation that has passed both chambers. Conference committees are usually convened to resolve bicameral differences on major and controversial legislation.
• Document: means all records, papers, letters, maps, books, photographs, films, sound recordings, magnetic or other tapes, electronic data-processing records, artifacts, or other documentary material regardless of physical form or characteristics. See North Carolina General Statutes 120-129
• Executive session: A portion of the Senate's daily session in which it considers executive business.
• Joint meeting: An occasion, often ceremonial, when the House and Senate each adopt a unanimous consent agreement
• Legislative commission: means any commission or committee which the Legislative Services Commission is directed or authorized to staff by law or resolution and which it does, in fact, staff. See North Carolina General Statutes 120-129
• Legislative employee: means employees and officers of the General Assembly, consultants and counsel to members and committees of either house of the General Assembly or of legislative commissions who are paid by State funds, students at an accredited law school while in an externship program at the General Assembly approved by the Legislative Services Commission, and employees of the School of Government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; but does not mean legislators and members of the Council of State. See North Carolina General Statutes 120-129
• Legislator: means a member-elect, member-designate, or member of the North Carolina Senate or House of Representatives. See North Carolina General Statutes 120-129
• state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories, so called; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the said district and territories and all dependencies. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3