The Legislative Process: How Bills Become Laws

Laws in the United States begin as ideas, which can come from a member of the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives, or be proposed by citizens or citizen groups. These ideas are then drafted into bills, which are proposals for a new law or a change to an existing one. Once a bill is introduced, it goes through several stages of review, discussion, and voting in the House and the Senate before it can become a law. This process includes committee and subcommittee review, floor debate and approval, and potential revision by a conference committee to resolve differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill. The bill must then be approved by the President before it can become a law, though Congress can override a presidential veto in some cases. Understanding these basic steps is essential to grasp how a bill becomes a law in the U.S. legislative process.

Bill is drafted, sponsored and introduced

The first step in the legislative process is the creation of a bill. A bill is a proposal for a new law or a change to an existing law. Ideas for bills can come from sitting members 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 member of Congress has an idea for a law, they can draft a bill.

The primary Congress member supporting the bill is called the "sponsor". These are usually members of the House or Senate, but can also be citizens who have contacted their Representatives to discuss their ideas. The sponsor will then talk with other Representatives about the bill to try and gain their support. The other members who support the bill are called "co-sponsors". Once a bill has a sponsor and the support of some other Representatives, it is ready to be introduced.

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, a bill clerk will assign it a number that begins with H.R. in the House of Representatives, and S. in the Senate. A reading clerk will then read the bill to all the Representatives, and the Speaker of the House will send the bill to one of the House standing committees.

Committee reviews and amends bill

Once a bill is introduced, it is assigned to a committee whose members will review, research, discuss, and make changes to the bill. Committees are groups of members of Congress who are particularly interested in and knowledgeable about the bill's topic, such as health, agriculture, education, or international affairs.

The committee may hold hearings to better understand the implications of the bill and gather expert opinions and the views of other interested parties. The committee may also choose to refer the bill to a subcommittee for further 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 full committee will meet to "mark up" the bill, making changes and amendments before recommending it to the "floor". The committee can choose to pass the bill, make revisions and release it, or lay it aside. If the committee votes not to report legislation to the full chamber of Congress, the bill dies. If they vote in favour of the bill, it is reported to the floor.

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' vote.

Bill is voted on by full chamber

Once a bill has been introduced, assigned to a committee, and debated, it is ready to be voted on by the full chamber. In the U.S. House of Representatives, there are three methods of 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 in support of the bill to stand up and be counted, and then does the same for those who oppose it. In a recorded vote, Representatives use an electronic voting system to record their votes as yes, no, or present if they don't want to vote. If a majority of Representatives vote yes, the bill passes in the House of Representatives and is then certified by the Clerk of the House and delivered to the U.S. Senate.

In the U.S. 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 then ready to be sent to the President. If the bill is passed by both the House and the Senate, a conference committee made up of members from both chambers works to resolve any differences between the two versions of the bill. The resulting bill then returns to the House and Senate for final approval.

Bill is sent to the other chamber

Once a bill has been passed by either the House or the Senate, it is referred to the other chamber, where it will go through a similar process of research, discussion, changes, and voting. The bill is assigned to a committee, which will review, research, and revise the bill before voting on whether to send it back to the floor.

The committee may request reports from government agencies, hold hearings to gather expert opinions, or refer the bill to a subcommittee for further study and hearings. The subcommittee may make changes to the bill and must vote to refer it back to the full committee. If the committee votes in favour of the bill, it is reported to the floor for further debate and approval. At this point, members of the chamber may propose amendments to the bill, add additional text, or make other alterations.

The bill is then put to a vote. In the Senate, senators vote by voice, saying "yea" if they support the bill and "nay" if they oppose it. In the House of Representatives, there are three methods of voting: viva voce (voice vote), division, and recorded. In a voice vote, representatives say "aye" if they support the bill and "no" if they oppose it. In a division, supporters of the bill are asked to stand up and be counted, and then opponents do the same. In a recorded vote, representatives use an electronic voting system to record their vote as yes, no, or present if they do not wish to vote on the bill.

If a majority of members in the chamber support the bill, it passes and is ready to be sent to the President. If the bill is rejected by the chamber, it is sent back to the original chamber, where it may be amended and voted on again.

President approves or vetoes bill

Once a bill has been passed by both the House and the Senate, it is sent to the President for approval. The President has three options: they can approve the bill, veto it, or do nothing.

If the President approves of the bill, they will sign it, and it becomes a law.

If the President does not approve of the bill, they can veto it. A veto means that the President refuses to sign the bill, and it is sent back to Congress, along with the President's reasons for the veto. If Congress still believes that the bill should become law, they can hold another vote on the bill. If two-thirds of the Representatives and Senators support the bill, the President's veto is overridden, and the bill becomes a law.

If the President does nothing, there are two possible outcomes. If Congress is in session, the bill will automatically become law after ten days. However, if Congress is not in session, and the President does not sign the bill within ten days, the bill will be vetoed by default. This is called a "pocket veto" and cannot be overridden by Congress.

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