Engrossment
Definition
Engrossment is the process of reprinting a bill to incorporate all amendments adopted on the floor, producing the official version a chamber votes to pass. It happens within a single chamber, before the bill moves to the other chamber or to enrollment.
Why it matters
Engrossing is a clerical step, but errors or last-minute amendment insertions here can slip through with little independent review, since the engrossed version is treated as authoritative once floor debate ends. Tracking which amendments made it into the engrossed text is one of the few ways outside observers can verify what a chamber actually voted on, versus what was originally introduced.
Seen in the wild
The Texas Legislature produces an "Engrossed" version of a bill after each chamber adopts floor amendments and passes it, distinct from the "Enrolled" version created later once both chambers agree on identical final text, a distinction the Texas Legislative Reference Library tracks publicly for every bill.