what is the "house of origin"

It this refers to the United States, then 49 of the 50 states have bicameral legislatures. That means that the legislatures have two "houses," being a House of Representatives and a Senate. So house of origin refers to the house in which the legislation was proposed and passed. If a bill were proposed and passed in the Senate, then the Senate is the house of origin.

"The practice of “gutting and amending” legislation has become too prevalent and prevents any adequate vetting of legislation by affected parties. A shorter period in print of 3 days should be required for legislation accompanying the budget and the budget itself. Emergency legislation could still be enacted in a special session without meeting these requirements, as has been done in the past, when necessary."

Yes, Setanta. This refers to the United States.
Could you help me with another two questions?
What does "gutting and amending" mean here? I can find it frequently used when googling, but I don't understand the exact meaning of "gutting".
And you can find the word "session" in the paragraph. What does a "session" refer to?

To gut something means to take something out of it, and usually means to take the heart of something out of it. Legislation which intended to punish a certain activity, for example, would be said to have been gutted if the enforcement provisions or the exact nature of the punishment were reduced or eliminated. So, for example, legislation might make it illegal to sell used cars which have been involved in an accident without telling the prospective purchaser. But if the provisions in the legislation which would supervise used car dealers, or which would specify fines or other punishment were reduced or eliminated, then one would probably say that the legislation had been gutted. This often happens because legislators want to be seen to pass certain bills in order to please the voters, but don't want to alienate people who might contribute money to their election campaigns. Such legislators would want to pass the bill so that they look good to voters, but would work to "gut" the legislation so that it doesn't really hurt people with money from whom they hope to obtain campaign contributions.

Session refers to the period during which Representatives and Senators are required to attend their respective houses. So, for example, the 20th Amendment to the United States constitution, paragraph two, reads: The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3d day of January, unless they shall by law appoint a different day. So, the congressional session begins each year on January 3rd. When the session will end, however, is not specified.

The constitution of the State of Illinois provides this instruction for legislative sessions: The General Assembly shall convene each year on the second Wednesday of January. The General Assembly shall be a continuous body during the term for which members of the House of Representatives are elected. The members of the House of Representatives in Illinois are elected every two years, so, effectively, that means that a legislative session in Illinois begins on the second Wenesday of January in the year following each election, and continues for almost two years, until the next election.

Thank you very much, Setanta.