The Legislative Process: From Bill To Law

The process of a bill becoming a law is a complex one, with many steps and potential amendments. In the United States, all laws start out as a bill, which is proposed legislation usually sponsored by members of Congress. A bill can originate in either the Senate or the House of Representatives and is assigned a unique number. The bill is then introduced and given a title before being sent to a committee for review. The committee can make changes, send it back, or do nothing. If the bill makes it past the committee stage, it goes to the Senate or House floor for a vote. If it passes, it moves to the other branch of Congress and the process repeats. Amendments are often added during this journey, and if the bill passes both the Senate and House, it goes to the President. With the President's signature, the bill becomes a law.

Introduction of a bill

The legislative process begins with the introduction of a bill. Any member of the House of Representatives or the United States Senate may introduce a bill at any time while the House or Senate is in session. The bill is then referred to the committee of jurisdiction, which is the committee charged with reviewing the bill. The sponsor's signature must appear on the bill, which may have an unlimited number of cosponsoring members.

The bill is assigned its legislative number by the Clerk. Bills coming from the Senate have the prefix "S." on them, and bills coming from the House of Representatives have the prefix "H.R.". Numbers are assigned in the order of introduction in a session of Congress, with the numbers thus starting anew every two years.

When legislators introduce a bill, they often provide introductory remarks to explain the bill's purpose and the rationale for its passage. These remarks offer insight into the legislative intent and can also reveal any lobbying interests involved in the bill's drafting. However, not all bills are accompanied by introductory remarks. To check for these, refer to the Congressional Record on the date the bill was first introduced.

The standard elements of a bill's layout include:

• The number and session of Congress in which it is introduced
• The abbreviation for which house it is from (H.R. or S.)
• The number of the bill itself
• A brief description of its purpose
• The date on which the bill was introduced
• The names of sponsors and any co-sponsors
• The proposed language, including the "Short Title," i.e., the "popular name" of the law if passed

Committee work

Once a bill has been introduced, it is assigned to the appropriate committee(s) of the House of Congress in which it was introduced. This is the second step in the legislative process. Significant bills are generally supported by hearings held by the committee or one of its subcommittees to determine the views of experts, lobbyists, agency officials, or other interested parties. The purpose of a hearing is to determine the need for new legislation or to solicit relevant information. Hearings are useful for understanding the need for a bill, but the large amount of testimony and the difficulty of establishing a connection between specific remarks made during the hearing and their effect on the final language of the bill limit their usefulness in statutory construction. However, when a hearing is held on a particular piece of legislation, the member of Congress who introduced the bill often testifies as to its purpose before the committee.

A committee report describes the purpose and scope of the bill, explains the committee amendments, indicates any proposed changes to existing laws, and includes the texts of communications from departmental officials whose views on the legislation may have been solicited. The House and Senate Reports that accompany the bill reported out are first issued in slip form and have a two-part numbering scheme, for example, 105-62. The first number (105) indicates the Congress during which the report was issued; the second number is a sequential number that identifies a particular report.

A bill is reported out of the committee when the chairman of the committee reintroduces it in the chamber along with the committee recommendations. Committee reports are the most persuasive legislative history sources. It has been common practice for committee reports to give instructions on how government agencies should interpret and enforce the law. Courts have relied on these guidelines in establishing intent. It is usually best practice to begin a legislative history research project with the committee reports.

Floor debate

Once a bill has been reported out by a committee, it is sent to the floor for debate and a vote. The debates appear in the Congressional Record, though it is not a word-for-word transcript of what is spoken on the floor. Members of Congress can review and modify their remarks before they are published in the Record. Since 1978, the Senate has indicated this type of remark with a "bullet", a dark circle at the beginning and end of the speech; in the House, such proceedings are indicated by italicized type. Roman type indicates remarks that are actually spoken on the floor.

The bill can be amended on the floor. In terms of legislative history authority, prepared statements are generally given more weight than extemporaneous remarks, and explanations given by sponsors of floor amendments are usually considered more important than statements made by other members. In cases of ambiguity, statements by the "floor manager" are of particular importance as they may clarify legislative intent.

The bill is returned to the House or Senate for further debate and approval. At this point, members may propose amendments to the bill, add additional text, or otherwise alter the bill. These may be referred to as floor statements. When similar bills are presented and passed in the House and Senate, a conference committee of the two chambers is formed to reconcile differences.

The Congressional Record is available through Proquest Congressional, GovInfo.gov, and HeinOnline.

Passage and consideration in the second chamber

Once a bill has been passed by one chamber of Congress, it moves to the second chamber, where it undergoes a similar process. It is first assigned to the relevant committees, who review it and either send it back with no changes, make changes and then send it back, or table it (do nothing, so it effectively dies for that session).

If the bill makes it out of committee, it goes on the calendar to be voted on by the second chamber. If it passes this vote, it moves to the next step. If it doesn't, the chamber has 24 hours to make a motion to reconsider the bill. If no motion is made, the bill dies.

If the bill is amended by the second chamber and the first chamber does not accept these amendments, a conference committee consisting of members of both chambers is appointed. If this committee can agree on a compromise bill, they issue a conference report, which is then voted on in both chambers.

Presidential action

Once a bill has been passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate, it is sent to the President for review. This is the final step in the legislative process.

The President has 10 days to act on the bill. If the President approves of the bill, they will sign it and it becomes a law. If the President does not approve, they can veto it. A vetoed bill is sent back to Congress, along with the President's reasons for the veto. If two-thirds of both the House and the Senate still support the bill, they can override the veto, and the bill becomes a law.

If the President does nothing and 10 days pass with Congress still in session, the bill automatically becomes a law. This is known as a 'pocket veto'. However, if Congress adjourns before the 10 days are up, the bill will not become law. This is also called a pocket veto, and it cannot be overridden by Congress.

Throughout the legislative process, the President may issue messages conveying general recommendations or requesting the passage of specific measures. These messages, along with any signing statements or veto messages, become part of the legislative history.

Frequently asked questions