Legislative glossary
Engrossment
Definition
The procedural step that prepares the official, formally-printed version of a bill after one chamber passes it. The engrossed version is what gets sent to the other chamber.
Why it matters
Engrossment is quality control for democracy: after a chamber passes a bill, every adopted amendment is merged into one official, certified text before it crosses to the other chamber. Mundane, until it isn't. Engrossment errors have enacted the wrong version of laws, and the engrossed text is the legally operative one, whatever members thought they voted on.
In the game
The Bill to Law Game handles engrossment between chambers the way real clerks do: invisibly when things go well, and your Bill Text panel always shows exactly what the current official version says.
Related terms
Comes up alongside