In legislative procedure, a rider is an additional provision added to a bill or other measure under consideration by a legislature, which may or may not have much, if any, connection with the subject matter of the bill). Riders are not permitted in legislatures bound by a single-subject rule. In the U.S. Congress, riders have been a traditional method for members of Congress to advance controversial measures without building coalitions specifically in support of them, allowing the measure to move through the legislative process). Since the 1980s, however, omnibus bills have become more common).
Riders may be unrelated to the subject matter of bills to which they are attached and are commonly used to introduce unpopular provisions). For example, a rider to stop net neutrality was attached to a bill relating to military and veteran construction projects. Another rider has been the Hyde Amendment which since 1976 has been attached to Appropriation Bills to prevent Medicaid paying for most abortions).
In the world of Congress, a rider is a term for a type of amendment to legislation. It is an ancillary document that amends or supplements the primary document. For example, in Blackburn Food Corp. v. Ardi, Inc., the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division analyzed a lease which contained a rider giving tenants an option to purchase the premises.
Here are some key points to remember about riders in Congress:
- A rider is an additional provision added to a bill or other measure under consideration by a legislature, which may or may not have much, if any, connection with the subject matter of the bill).
- Riders are not permitted in legislatures bound by a single-subject rule).
- In the U.S. Congress, riders have been a traditional method for members of Congress to advance controversial measures without building coalitions specifically in support of them, allowing the measure to move through the legislative process).
- Riders may be unrelated to the subject matter of bills to which they are attached and are commonly used to introduce unpopular provisions).
- A rider is an ancillary document that amends or supplements the primary document.
