Understanding Lawmaking: Steps To Transforming A Bill Into Law

In the United States, laws begin as ideas for a new law or a change to an existing law. These ideas can come from members of the House of Representatives or the Senate, or they can be proposed by citizens or advocacy groups. Once an idea has been drafted into a bill, it must go through several steps before it can become a law. These steps include being introduced, going to a committee, being voted on, and getting approved by the President.

A bill is proposed

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 be petitioned by citizens or citizen groups who recommend a new or amended law to a member of Congress that represents them.

Once an idea for a bill has been formulated, the bill needs to be written. If a Representative is the sponsor, the bill is introduced in the House. If a Senator is the sponsor, the bill is introduced in the Senate. When a Representative has written a bill, they will talk 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. Once a bill is introduced, it can be found on Congress.gov, the official government website that tracks federal legislation. The House clerk then assigns the bill a legislative number (e.g. H.R. 1001) and a reading clerk reads the bill to all the Representatives, before sending it to one of the House standing committees.

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 be petitioned by citizens or citizen groups who recommend a new or amended law to a member of Congress that represents them.

Once a bill is drafted, it must be introduced. If a Representative is the sponsor, the bill is introduced in the House. If a Senator is the sponsor, the bill is introduced in the Senate. 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.

The House clerk assigns a legislative number for bills introduced in the House of Representatives (e.g. H.R. 1001), and the Senate clerk assigns a legislative number for bills introduced in the Senate (e.g. S. 1002). Once a bill is introduced, it can be found on Congress.gov, the official government website that tracks federal legislation.

A bill goes to committee

Once a bill has been introduced, it is referred to a committee. Both the House and the Senate have committees that are composed of groups of Congress members with a particular interest in specific topics, such as health or international affairs. These committees carefully examine the bill, determining its chances of passage by the entire Congress.

Committees may hold hearings to better understand the implications of the bill. Hearings allow the views of the executive branch, experts, other public officials, supporters, and opponents of the bill to be recorded. If the committee does not act on a bill, it is considered "dead".

Subcommittees are organised under committees and have further specialisation on a certain topic. Committees often refer bills to a subcommittee for study and hearings. The subcommittee may make changes to the bill and must vote to refer it back to the full committee.

Once hearings and subcommittee reviews are completed, the committee will meet to "mark up" the bill. They make changes and amendments before recommending the bill to the "floor". If a committee votes against reporting legislation to the full chamber of Congress, the bill dies. If the committee votes in favour of the bill, it is reported to the floor. This procedure is called "ordering a bill reported".

A bill is reported

Once the committee has approved a bill, it is sent, or reported, to the House floor. This procedure is called "ordering a bill reported". Once reported, a bill is ready to be debated by the U.S. House of Representatives.

When a bill is debated, Representatives discuss the bill and explain why they agree or disagree with it. Then, a reading clerk reads the bill section by section, and the Representatives recommend changes. When 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:

• Viva Voce (voice vote): The Speaker of the House asks the Representatives who support the bill to say “aye” and those that oppose it say “no.”
• Division: The Speaker of the House asks those Representatives who support the bill to stand up and be counted, and then those who oppose the bill to stand up and be counted.
• Recorded: Representatives record their vote using the electronic voting system. Representatives can vote yes, no, or present (if they don’t want to vote on the bill).

If a majority of the Representatives say or select 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.

A bill is voted on

Once a bill has been introduced, assigned to a committee, and marked up, it is put before the chamber to be voted on. This is known as the "floor action" stage.

There are three methods for voting on a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives: viva voce, division, and recorded. In the viva voce method, the Speaker of the House asks the Representatives who support the bill to say "aye" and those that oppose it to say "no". In the division method, the Speaker of the House asks those Representatives who support the bill to stand up and be counted, and then those who oppose the bill to do the same. In the recorded method, 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 House and is then sent to the Senate.

In the Senate, voting is done by voice. Senators who support the bill say "yea", and those who oppose it say "nay". If a majority of Senators say "yea", the bill passes in the Senate and is ready to go to the President.

If the bill passes one body of Congress, it goes to the other body to go through a similar process of research, discussion, changes, and voting. Once both bodies vote to accept a bill, they must work out any differences between the two versions. Then, both chambers vote on the same version of the bill. If it passes, they present it to the President.

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