Entering Votes - Amendment Votes
Bill Text
The bill text for an amendment vote is solely the text of the amendment. It is not the text of the legislation that it's amending, and if it is amending an amendment, it's not the text of the amendment that it's amending. However, those bill texts being amended can be used for context purposes.
The location of the amendment text varies by state. Some will have a link to an html page or pdf file with the amendment text, whereas others require you to search the legislative journal for the text. Here's an example of each:
- Louisiana - Amdt 2565 to HB 410 (House Amendment Vote), 2010.
- Massachusetts - Sanchez Amdt to H 4600 (House Amendment Vote), 2010.
If the legislature provides a pdf of the amendment text, save the pdf to the appropriate electronic folder, and that will serve as your bill text. If the amendment is provided in the journal, or anything other than a pdf file, copy and paste the text of the amendment into a Word document and export is as a pdf. Make sure the text looks presentable by removing any unnecessary wording and/or spacing (this is especially an issue if you're copying from a pdf document, as most legislative journals are provided via pdf files). Here's an example, using the same Massachusetts' amendment used in the previous example:
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