Section 23. Bills and resolves passed to be engrossed by the general court, and bills for which initiative petitions are completed under the constitution of the commonwealth, shall, under the direction of the committees on rules of the 2 branches, acting concurrently, be fairly engrossed in such manner and by utilizing such equipment as said committees shall determine. The enacting clause of bills for which initiative petitions are completed shall be in the form prescribed by section 3 of chapter 4. The state secretary shall cause the acts and resolves of each session to be neatly and strongly bound in separate volumes of convenient size and lettered on the back with a designation of the contents and the legislative year. If acts or resolves are becoming illegible, the state secretary shall cause copies of the acts or resolves, similar to the originals, to be prepared and shall attest them. Such attested copies shall have the same force and effect as the originals.

If the clerk of the senate, with the approval of the president of the senate and the speaker of the house, determines that it would expedite the business of the general court, the legislative engrossing division shall prepare for final passage by the general court an exact copy of any bill specified by said clerk, as passed to be engrossed by both branches, so far as possible by pasting a printed copy of said bill, as so passed, on the kind and size of paper designated by said committees on rules and the copy so prepared shall be deemed to have been fairly engrossed.