The Bill's Journey: Judiciary Committee To Law

The legislative process is a complex and lengthy procedure that varies slightly between different governments and legislative bodies. In the US, the legislative process begins with the introduction of a proposal in one of four forms: the bill, the joint resolution, the concurrent resolution, and the simple resolution. The most common form is the bill. Once a bill is introduced, it is referred to a committee. Committees play a crucial role in the legislative process, as they carefully examine bills and determine their chances of passage. The committee may hold hearings and refer the bill to a subcommittee for further review. Following hearings and subcommittee input, the committee will make revisions and amendments, a process known as mark-up. If the committee votes in favour of the bill, it is reported to the floor for further debate and voting. This process is repeated in the other chamber, and if both chambers pass the same bill, it is sent to the President for review. The President can sign the bill into law, or veto it. If the President takes no action for ten days while Congress is in session, the bill automatically becomes law. However, if Congress adjourns before the ten days and the President hasn't signed, there is a pocket veto, and the bill does not become law.

Committee referral

Once a bill is introduced, it is referred to a committee. Committees are small groups of senators or delegates assigned to study bills involving a particular subject. Both the House and Senate have various committees composed of groups of Congress members who are particularly interested in different topics such as health or international affairs. When a bill is in the hands of the committee, it is carefully examined and its chances of passage by the entire Congress are determined. The committee may even choose to 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 legislation to be put on the record. If the committee does not act on a bill, the bill is considered to be "dead".

Committees are divided into subcommittees, which have further specialization on a certain topic. Often, committees refer bills to a subcommittee for study and their own hearings. The subcommittee may make changes to the bill and must vote to refer a bill back to the full committee.

Once the hearings and subcommittee review are completed, the committee will meet to "mark up" the bill. They make changes and amendments prior to recommending the bill to the "floor". If a committee votes not to report legislation to the full chamber of Congress, the bill dies. If the committee votes in favor of the bill, it is reported to the floor. This procedure is called "ordering a bill reported".

Committee Action

The bill is referred to the appropriate committee by the Speaker of the House or the presiding officer in the Senate. Most often, the actual referral decision is made by the House or Senate parliamentarian. Bills may be referred to more than one committee and it may be split so that parts are sent to different committees. The Speaker of the House may set time limits on committees. Bills are placed on the calendar of the committee to which they have been assigned. Failure to act on a bill is equivalent to killing it.

Bills can be assigned to a subcommittee by the Chairman. Subcommittees report their findings to the full committee. Finally, there is a vote by the full committee – the bill is "ordered to be reported".

A committee will hold a "mark-up" session during which it will make revisions and additions. If substantial amendments are made, the committee can order the introduction of a "clean bill" which will include the proposed amendments. This new bill will have a new number and will be sent to the floor while the old bill is discarded. The chamber must approve, change or reject all committee amendments before conducting a final passage vote.

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.

Hearings

During a hearing, the chairman of the committee, and often the ranking minority member or another committee member, will make a brief introductory statement before the first witness is called. Witnesses can include cabinet officers, high-ranking government officials, and interested private individuals, who may testify voluntarily or by subpoena. Witnesses are usually required to file a written statement of their proposed testimony in advance, and to limit their oral presentations to a brief summary.

Each member of the committee is usually given five minutes to interrogate each witness until all members have had the opportunity to question them. Committee staff may also be permitted to question witnesses for a specified period. A transcript of the testimony is made available for inspection, and is often printed and distributed widely by the committee.

Subcommittee review

Once a bill is introduced, it is referred to a committee. Both the House and Senate have various committees composed of groups of Congress members who are particularly interested in different topics such as health or international affairs. Committees are then further divided into subcommittees, which have further specialisation on a certain topic.

Subcommittees are able to hold hearings to better understand the implications of the bill. They may also make changes to the bill and must vote to refer a bill back to the full committee. The subcommittee may make changes to the bill and must vote to refer it back to the full committee. The subcommittee may also suggest that the committee 'table' it or postpone action indefinitely.

Each member of the subcommittee, regardless of party affiliation, has one vote. Proxy voting is no longer permitted in House committees.

Committee mark-up

A committee markup is a key step in the legislative process, where members of the committee consider possible changes to the proposal by offering and voting on amendments. This meeting is typically open to the public and concludes when the committee agrees, by majority vote, to report the bill to the chamber.

The committee chair usually chooses the proposal that will be placed before the committee for markup, which can be a referred bill or a new draft text. Amendments may include a complete substitute for the original text.

Committees rarely hold a markup unless the proposal is expected to receive majority support. If the committee votes in favour of the bill, it is reported to the floor. This procedure is called "ordering a bill reported". If the committee votes against the bill, it dies.

The committee markup is an important step as it is the key formal step a committee takes for a bill to advance to the floor.

Full committee vote

Once the bill has been reviewed by the subcommittees, it is sent back to the full committee for a vote. The committee will vote to either pass the bill, pass the bill with amendments, or reject the bill. If the committee votes to pass the bill, it is then reported to the floor. This procedure is called "ordering a bill reported". If the committee votes to pass the bill with amendments, it can order the introduction of a "clean bill" which will include the proposed amendments. This new bill will have a new number and will be sent to the floor while the old bill is discarded. If the committee votes to reject the bill, it dies.

Frequently asked questions