Unicameral Lawmaking: How Bills Become Laws

The process of a bill becoming a law differs between unicameral and bicameral systems of government. In a bicameral system, such as the United States, the bill must pass through both the House of Representatives and the Senate before being sent to the President, who can approve or veto it. The bill is first drafted and introduced by a member of Congress, who becomes the bill's sponsor. It is then assigned to a committee, which researches, discusses, and makes changes to the bill. The bill is then put before the chamber to be voted on. If it passes one body of Congress, it goes through the same process in the other body. Once both bodies have approved the bill, they must reconcile any differences between their two versions, and both chambers vote on the same version of the bill. If it passes, it is sent to the President. The President can then approve the bill, veto it, or do nothing. If the President chooses to veto the bill, Congress can vote to override the veto, and the bill becomes a law.

A bill is proposed by a representative

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. 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. Only Representatives can introduce bills in the U.S. House of Representatives.

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. 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. When a bill is introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, a bill clerk assigns it a number that begins with H.R.

Once a bill is introduced, it is assigned to a committee whose members will research, discuss, and make changes to the bill. Both the House and the Senate have various committees composed of groups of Congress members with particular interests and expertise in different topics such as health, education, agriculture, or international affairs. The Speaker of the House or the presiding officer in the Senate refers the bill to the appropriate committee. Bills may be referred to more than one committee and may be split so that parts are sent to different committees.

The committee will carefully examine the bill and determine its chances of passage by the entire Congress. The committee may 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 record. If the committee does not act on a bill, the bill is considered to be "dead".

Subcommittees are organized under committees and have further specialization 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 a bill back to the full committee. When 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".

The bill is assigned to a committee

Once a bill has been introduced, it is assigned to a committee. This committee is made up of groups of representatives who are experts on topics such as agriculture, education, or international relations. The committee will research, discuss, and make changes to the bill. They will also determine the bill's chances of passage by the entire Congress.

The Speaker of the House or the presiding officer in the Senate usually refers the bill to the appropriate committee. However, the actual referral decision is often made by the House or Senate parliamentarian. Bills may be referred to more than one committee and 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 in the House can only be released from the committee without a proper committee vote by a discharge petition signed by a majority of the House membership.

The Chairman may assign a bill to a subcommittee. Hearings may be held, and subcommittees report their findings to the full committee. Finally, there is a vote by the full committee—the bill is "ordered to be reported".

The committee will then hold a "'mark-up' session, making revisions and additions. If substantial amendments are made, the committee can order the introduction of a "clean bill" to 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.

The committee debates and amends the bill

Once a bill has been introduced, it is assigned to a committee. The committee members review, research, and revise the bill before voting on whether to send it back to the House floor. Committee members are groups of representatives who are experts on topics such as agriculture, education, or international relations. The committee may choose to hold hearings to better understand the bill's implications and gather the views of the executive branch, experts, other public officials, supporters, and opponents of the bill. 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.

When 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 favour of the bill, it is reported to the floor. This procedure is called "ordering a bill reported".

Once the bill reaches the floor, there is additional debate and members of the full chamber vote to approve any amendments. The bill is then passed or defeated by the members' voting.

In the US Senate, debate is unlimited unless cloture is invoked. Senators can speak for as long as they want, and amendments need not be germane – riders are often offered. Entire bills can therefore be offered as amendments to other bills. Unless cloture is invoked, senators can use a filibuster to defeat a measure by "talking it to death".

The bill is voted on

In a unicameral system, all members of the legislature belong to and vote in one house. In the US, the House of Representatives is the lower house, and the Senate is the upper house. The lawmaking process can begin in either house.

Once a bill has been introduced, assigned to a committee, studied, and released from committee, it is put on a calendar to be voted on.

The bill is then put before the chamber to be voted on. There are three methods for voting on a bill in the US 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).

A simple majority is required to pass a bill in the House. If the bill passes by a simple majority (218 of 435), the bill moves to the Senate.

In the Senate, the bill is assigned to another committee and, if released, debated and voted on. Again, a simple majority (51 of 100) passes the bill.

If the bill passes in both the House and the Senate, it is sent to the President. If the House and Senate pass different bills, they are sent to a Conference Committee to work out the differences. This committee is made up of House and Senate members, who prepare a written report with recommendations for the final bill. The resulting bill returns to the House and Senate for final approval.

The bill is sent to the President

Once a bill has been approved by both the House and the Senate, it is sent to the President for review. The President has three options: they can sign the bill into law, refuse to sign it, or do nothing. If the President approves of the bill, they will sign it, and it will become a law. If they do not approve, they can veto it, sending it back to Congress with an explanation for their decision. Congress can then attempt to override the veto through a vote. If two-thirds of both the House and the Senate support the bill, the President's veto is overridden, and the bill becomes a law. If the President does nothing, and ten days pass while Congress is in session, the bill will automatically become law. However, if Congress is not in session, and no action is taken, the bill will not become law, resulting in a "pocket veto".

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