Enrolled Bill

The final copy of a bill or joint resolution that has passed both houses of a legislature and is ready for signature. In legislative practice, a bill that has been duly introduced, finally passed by both houses, signed by the proper officers of each, approved by the governor (or president), and filed by the SECRETARY OF STATE.

Under the enrolled bill rule, once an election for the adoption of a statute is held, the procedural method by which the measure was placed on the ballot cannot be challenged with a lawsuit since judicial inquiry into legislative procedure is barred as an intrusion into the internal affairs of the lawmaking body. In addition, this rule enhances the stability of statutory enactments. Citizens can reasonably rely on the legality of filed enactments. As a result, an enrolled bill is the most authoritative source of statutory law in a jurisdiction.