4.  BILLS

4.1  Introduction of a Bill

     Bills are either sponsored by individual members of the legislature or by committees of the legislature. Although committees will not hear an individual member’s bill until it has been formally introduced, they often hear “proposed committee bills” or “PCBs.” While these bills may eventually be formally introduced as committee bills, they are initially heard by the committee before introduction for refinement and to avoid some of the technical amending procedures required of introduced bills.

     Often, a bill is substantially amended in committee and becomes a committee substitute. The committee substitute may also be amended into a new committee substitute, either in the same committee or when another committee hears it. Consequently, because as many as three committees may hear a bill, the final bill heard by the full chamber may be referred to as “the Committee Substitute for Committee Substitute for Committee Substitute for House/Senate Bill X.”

     Depending upon the author’s approach, an article may discuss the legislation by referring to the bill or the act. However, the recommended course is for passed legislation to be cited as an act, session law, or statute. Unpassed legislation – or earlier versions of passed legislation – should be cited as a bill.

4.2  Passage of a Bill

     Not all bills are passed by the legislature. In the final days of the legislative session, however, bills that die on the calendar or in committee may nevertheless become law. This occurs by amending another bill to include a second bill, in full or in part, or by including the thrust of the bill in the proviso language to the Appropriations Act. Technically, when a bill is amended to include all or part of another bill, the amendment form is to state the number of the bill that is being amended onto the host bill. The procedure surrounding the amending of a bill onto another bill is complex, but in general, the bill must have passed its first committee of reference and be on the same subject as the host bill. For a more technical overview on the rules surrounding the passage and amending of bills, see The Rules of the Florida House, available at www.myfloridahouse.gov, and the Florida Senate Rules and Manual, available at www.floridasenate.gov.

4.3  Citation and Reference Forms

(a) Titles of Bills

     The title begins at the very top of the bill in a block-indented paragraph that may run on for several pages depending upon the length and complexity of the bill. These titles will not be reproduced in the Florida Statutes but will appear in the Laws of Florida.

     In text, refer to the bill by its caption title, short title, or other descriptive phrase that helps to identify the bill:

► The House Drinking Age Bill also encountered problems.

     In footnotes or stan-alone citations, a bill’s caption title, short title, or other descriptive phrase may be used in a parenthetical to help identify a bill:

► Fla. CS for SB 1 (1985) (The House Drinking Age Bill).

(b) In Text

     Textual references to bills that include the bill’s number should be spelled out and capitalized. If the textual discussion does not include the bill’s number, do not capitalize the phrase “bill.”

► House Bill 601 was signed by Governor Crist on June 30, 2008.

► The bill amended the Condominium Act to make mandated improvements, such as fire safety
equipment, common expenses of a condominium association.

(c) In Footnotes or Stand-Alone Citations

     Each time a bill is cited in a footnote, give its year.

► Fla. SB 20 (1985).

(d) Committee Substitutes and Amendments

     In footnotes and stand-alone citations, the basic forms are:

► Fla. SB 24 (2024). (for the original filed version)

► Fla. CS for SB 24 (2024). (for the committee substitute)

► Fla. CS for CS for SB 24 (2024). (for the second committee substitute)

     Textual references to committee substitutes that include the bill’s number should be spelled out and capitalized. If the textual discussion does not include the bill’s number, do not capitalize the phrase “committee substitute.”

► The Committee Substitute for House Bill 145 became a vehicle for House Bill 1378.

► The committee substitute addressed the concerns of key legislators.

     If the bill is captioned as a committee substitute for a committee substitute (and so on), then either refer to the bill as a specific committee’s substitute or as a specific committee’s second committee substitute).

► Representative Lewis spoke against the Commerce Committee’s Committee Substitute for House
Bill 112.

► Senator DuRant agreed that the Appropriations Committee’s second Committee Substitute
for Senate Bill 157 provided too much money for the Department.

     Floor amendments are cited to the legislative journals. See FSM Rule 3.2. However, direct citations to bill amendments in committee should be cited in the following form:

► Fla. [H.R. or S.] Comm. on [abbreviation for committee], [title of amendment] [at page number]
(year or exact date if necessary) (location parenthetical or appended URL) (optional description).

(e) Numbered Sections

     The basic form for bills with numbered sections is:

► Fla. HB 237, § 4 (1994).

     Citations to bills and joint resolutions (HJRs and SJRs) that do not include numbered sections – e.g., a HJR proposing new or amended constitutional language – should indicate the page number of the resolution where the proposed language appears and pinpoint the proposed changes to the constitution in a parenthetical notation.

► Fla. HJR 953 (1989) at 1-2 (proposed art III, § 19(a), Fla. Const.).

(f) Page and Line Form; Parentheticals

     If the cited section is long – particularly with appropriations or omnibus bills – it is helpful to provide the reader with a precise location of your cited material. After citing to the section, indicate the page and line number, or line item, where the reference is located. “Line” is abbreviated using Bluebook Table 16.

     Additionally, we recommend using a parenthetical to indicate the proposed location of the cited material in the Florida Statutes. (Sections of bills frequently have subsections that correspond to their proposed location in the Florida Statutes.) These parentheticals should also indicate whether the bill proposes a new statutory enactment or an amendment or deletion to existing law.     

     Legal Documents:

► Fla. CS for CS for HB 3, § 1, at 5, ll. 112-19 (2024) (proposed § 501.1737(5)(b), Fla. Stat.)

     Scholarly Works:

► Fla. CS for HB 95, § 2, at 2, ll. 33-37 (2024) (proposed amendment to Fla. Stat. § 326.004(3)
(f)).

     Lastly, if the cited matter pertains to a specific version of a bill (or a PCB—see infra Rule 4.5), indicate so in a parenthetical:

► Fla. HB 1352, § 15 (1985) (Second Engrossed).

► Fla. H.R. Comm. on Com., PCB 85-2, § 15 (draft of Apr. 26, 1985).

4.4  Proposed Committee Bills and Substitutes

     PCBs are bills proposed by the committees of the legislature. They are formally introduced and assigned a regular bill number after being passed by committee.

(a) In Text

     In textual sentences, these references should be capitalized and spelled out when referring to a specific proposed committee bill.

► Senator Walker moved that the Committee adopt Proposed Committee Bill 12.

► The Committee, however, did not adopt the proposed committee bill.

(b) In Footnotes or Stand-Alone Citations

     The standard form for citation sentences is:

► Fla. [H.R. or S.] Comm. on [abbreviation for committee], PCB [number] (year) (optional
     description or clarification).

     If appropriate, include “draft of” and the date of the draft in the parenthetical that indicates the year. Depending upon the context, a parenthetical notation indicating which bill the PCB serves as a preliminary draft for may also be included.

► Fla. H.R. Comm. on Ethics & Elecs., PCB 90-6 (draft of Mar. 30, 1990) (proposed Fla. Const.
     art. IV, § 13(b)).

     “PCS” indicates a proposed committee substitute. Follow the same rules as for other bills. Likewise, sections are cited the same as in any other bill.

► Fla. S. Comm. on Com., PCB 85-3, § 3 (draft of Mar. 27, 1985).

► Fla. H.R. Comm. on Approp., PCS for HB 151, § 5, at 12, l. 242 (2024).

4.5  Appropriations Bills

     The appropriations bill is essentially the same as any other bill, except that a single section of an appropriations bill may exceed 100 pages. Therefore, it is often helpful to include a citation to the item number of the appropriation. See supra Rule 4.3(e).

► Fla. H.R. Comm. on Approp., Amend. 1C to Amend. 1 to SJR 2 (1990) (on file with comm.)
(proposed Fla. Const. art. III, § 4(e)).

4.6  Bill Construction

     The Florida Legislature has its own way of constructing bills. While the method of construction does not impact citations, it is set out below to help authors interpret references that may be made by legislators, legislative staff, or legislative documents and publications.

     Generally, the body of a bill is constructed in one of two ways, depending on whether it amends an existing section of law or creates a new one.

     The body of a bill that does not seek to amend the present law is usually divided into sections and subsections of convenient length. The following example outlines the format of sections and subsections and is based on the House Bill Drafting Service’s Guidelines for Bill Drafting (2001).

     987.01. This is a catchline.—This is a section with its catchline. When a section is subdivided, it also sometimes has an “introductory paragraph,” such as this paragraph.

     (1) SUBSECTION CATCHLINE.—This is a subsection. Subsections are designated by arabic numerals within parentheses. If a subsection has its own catchline (most do not), it is capitalized as shown here.

     (a) Paragraph catchline.—This is a paragraph. If a paragraph has its own catchline, it is styled like a catchline for the whole section.

     1. This is a subparagraph. A subparagraph begins with an arabic numeral followed by a period.

     a. This is a sub-subparagraph. Florida statutes are seldom broken down any further, but if the occasion demands it, there is the sub-sub-subparagraph division.

     (I) This is the sub-sub-subparagraph, which is designated by a Roman numeral within parentheses.

     In the case of an amendment to existing law, the bill is organized using what is referred to as “directory language,” which indicates the section of the bill and the impacted section of law. The modifications to the existing law are then “coded” for the reader. Existing language that has been deleted is struck through and new language that has been inserted is underlined. The following example is from the House Bill Drafting Service’s Guidelines for Bill Drafting (2014).

     Section 1. Section 823.02, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 823.02 Building bonfires.--Whoever is concerned in causing or making a bonfire within 20 ten rods of any house, or building, or public highway commits shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s.775.083.