The Legislative Process: How A Bill Becomes Law

The process of how a bill becomes a law is a complex one. In the United States, all laws begin as bills, which can be proposed by a member of the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives, or even by citizens and advocacy groups. Once a bill is introduced, it goes through several stages of review, discussion, and voting in both the House and the Senate before it can be presented to the President for approval. The President can approve or veto the bill, but even if vetoed, Congress can still override this decision and pass the bill into law.

A bill is proposed

The first step in the legislative process is the introduction of legislation. Any member of Congress can introduce a bill, which is a proposal for a new law or a change to an existing one. The idea for a bill can come from a sitting member of the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives, be proposed during their election campaign, or come from citizens or advocacy groups.

Once a bill is drafted, it needs a sponsor. The sponsor is the primary Congress member supporting the bill. The sponsor will talk to other members of Congress about the bill to gain their support. Other members who support the bill are called "co-sponsors". Once a bill has a sponsor and the support of other members, it is ready to be introduced.

In the House of Representatives, a bill is introduced when it is placed in the hopper, a special box on the side of the clerk's desk. Only Representatives can introduce bills in the House. When a bill is introduced, a bill clerk assigns it a number that begins with H.R. The bill is then read aloud by a reading clerk to all the Representatives, and the Speaker of the House sends it to one of the House standing committees.

In the Senate, members must gain recognition from the presiding officer to announce the introduction of a bill during the morning hour. If any senator objects, the introduction is postponed until the next day. The bill is then assigned a number (e.g. S 1) and labelled with the sponsor's name. It is sent to the Government Printing Office (GPO) for copying, and members can cosponsor the legislation.

A bill is introduced

A bill is a proposal for a new law or a change to an existing law. The idea for a bill can come from a sitting member of the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives, be proposed during their election campaign, or come from citizens or citizen groups who recommend a new or amended law to a member of Congress that represents them. Citizens who have ideas for laws can contact their Representatives to discuss their ideas. If the Representatives agree, they research the ideas and write them into bills.

Once a bill is written, it needs a sponsor. The Representative talks with other Representatives about the bill in the hopes of getting their support. Once a bill has a sponsor and the support of some of the Representatives, it is ready to be introduced.

In the U.S. House of Representatives, a bill is introduced when it is placed in the hopper—a special box on the side of the clerk's desk. Only Representatives can introduce bills in the U.S. House of Representatives. When a bill is introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, a bill clerk assigns it a number that begins with H.R. A reading clerk then reads the bill to all the Representatives, and the Speaker of the House sends the bill to one of the House standing committees.

In the Senate, the bill is submitted to clerks on the Senate floor and members must gain recognition from the presiding officer to announce the introduction of a bill during the morning hour. If any senator objects, the introduction of the bill is postponed until the next day. The bill is then assigned a number (e.g. HR 1 or S 1) and sent to the Government Printing Office (GPO) to be copied.

A bill goes to committee

Once a bill has been introduced, it is sent to a committee. The Speaker of the House or the presiding officer in the Senate refers the bill to the appropriate committee. The referral decision is often made by the House or Senate parliamentarian. Bills may be referred to more than one committee, and parts of the bill may be sent to different committees. The Speaker of the House may also set time limits on committees.

Committees are groups of Representatives who are experts on topics such as agriculture, education, or international relations. They review, research, and revise the bill before voting on whether or not to send it back to the House floor. Committees may also establish subcommittees, which are subpanels where members can further focus on specific elements of the policy area. If the committee members would like more information before deciding, the bill is sent to a subcommittee. The subcommittee closely examines the bill and gathers expert opinions before sending it back to the committee for approval.

The committee chair has the chief agenda-setting authority and identifies the bills or issues on which the committee will try to formally act through hearings and/or a markup. The first formal committee action on a bill might be a hearing, which provides a forum for committee members and the public to hear about the strengths and weaknesses of a proposal from selected parties. At the hearing, invited witnesses provide oral remarks and submit written feedback on the bill. After the oral statements, committee members take turns asking questions of the witnesses.

A markup is the key formal step a committee takes for a bill to advance to the floor. The committee chair chooses the proposal for markup: a referred bill or a new draft text. At this meeting, committee members consider possible changes to the proposal by offering and voting on amendments. A markup concludes when the committee agrees, by majority vote, to report the bill to the chamber. Committees rarely hold a markup unless the proposal in question is expected to receive majority support.

After the bill is reported, the committee staff prepares a written report explaining why they favor the bill and why they wish to see their amendments, if any, adopted. Committee members who oppose a bill sometimes write a dissenting opinion in the report. The report is sent back to the whole chamber and is placed on the calendar.

A bill is reported

Once a bill has been approved by a committee, it is sent, or reported, to the House floor. At this stage, the bill is ready to be debated by the U.S. House of Representatives. During the debate, Representatives discuss the bill, explaining their reasons for supporting or opposing it. A reading clerk then reads the bill section by section, and Representatives can recommend changes. Once all changes have been made, the bill is ready to be voted on.

There are three methods for voting on a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives. The first is Viva Voce, where the Speaker of the House asks the Representatives who support the bill to say "aye" and those that oppose it say "no." The second is Division, where the Speaker asks those who support the bill to stand up and be counted, and then those who oppose the bill to do the same. The third is Recorded, where Representatives record their vote using the electronic voting system, selecting "yes," "no," or "present" if they don't want to vote on the bill. If a majority of Representatives vote "yes," the bill passes in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill is then certified by the Clerk of the House and delivered to the U.S. Senate.

When a bill reaches the Senate, it goes through similar steps as in the House of Representatives. The bill is discussed in a Senate committee and then reported to the Senate floor to be voted on. Senators vote by voice, saying "yea" if they support the bill and "nay" if they oppose it. If a majority of Senators say "yea," the bill passes in the U.S. Senate and is ready to be sent to the President.

The President has three options at this stage. They can choose to sign and pass the bill, in which case it becomes a law. Alternatively, they can refuse to sign or veto the bill, sending it back to the U.S. House of Representatives along with their reasons for the veto. If the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate still support the bill, they can hold another vote, and if two-thirds of the Representatives and Senators support it, the President's veto is overridden, and the bill becomes a law. The President can also choose to do nothing, which is known as a pocket veto. If Congress is in session, the bill automatically becomes law after 10 days of inaction by the President. However, if Congress is not in session, the bill does not become a law.

A bill is voted on

Once a bill has been debated, it is ready to be voted on. In the U.S. House of Representatives, there are three methods for voting on a bill: viva voce, division, and recorded. In a viva voce vote, the Speaker of the House asks Representatives to say "aye" if they support the bill and "no" if they oppose it. In a division vote, the Speaker asks those who support the bill to stand up and be counted, and then does the same for those who oppose it. In a recorded vote, Representatives record their vote using an electronic voting system, and can vote yes, no, or present if they don't want to vote on the bill. If a majority of Representatives vote yes, the bill passes in the House and is sent to the U.S. Senate.

The process for voting on a bill is slightly different in the Senate. Senators vote by voice, saying "yea" if they support the bill and "nay" if they oppose it. If a majority of Senators say "yea", the bill passes in the Senate and is ready to be sent to the President.

If a bill passes in the House but fails in the Senate, it may be sent to a Conference Committee, which is made up of members from each house who work to reconcile the differences between the two versions of the bill. If the Conference Committee reaches a compromise, a written report is submitted to each chamber, which must then approve the report.

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