Second Reading
Illinois House and Senate, Illinois Constitution; House Rules, 104th General Assembly
The bill's second formal reading. In the House this is the stage at which floor amendments can be adopted; the vote on the bill comes at Third Reading.
Every bill is read by title on three different days in each chamber before it can pass (Illinois Constitution, Article IV, Section 8(d)). A bill reaches the order of Second Reading once a committee has reported it favorably (House Rule 24(a)).
In the House, floor amendments may be adopted only while the bill is on Second Reading, by a majority vote (House Rule 40(b)), and no debate is in order on the bill itself at First or Second Reading (House Rule 52(a)).
“Short Debate” in the House means the committee approved the bill by at least three-fifths of those voting, which limits floor debate to a two-minute presentation, a two-minute response and one minute to close; seven members can ask for standard debate instead (House Rule 52).
Sources
- Constitution of the State of Illinois, Article IV, Section 8
- Rules of the Illinois House of Representatives, 104th General Assembly, Rules 24, 40, 52
Checked against these sources on 2026-10-12.