bill
A bill is a formal written statement, claim, declaration, or instrument.
- A bill may be an equitable pleading of a claim in a court of equity.
- At early common law, a bill in equity was analogous to a declaration in law.
- A bill may also be a statement indicating that one owes a certain sum of money to another, such as an invoice or itemized list of charges.
- A bill is also a legislative proposal offered for debate prior to its enactment into law, such as a draft of a statute.
See e.g., Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn. v. Weber, 67 Cal.App. 5th 488 (2021) and Whiting v. Bank of United States, 38 U.S. 6 (1839).
[Last reviewed in August of 2025 by the Wex Definitions Team]
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