The Legislative Process: How Laws Are Made

The process of legislation becoming law is known as the legislative process. In the US, this involves nine steps, beginning with a bill being drafted by any member of Congress. The bill is then introduced, referred to a committee, and reviewed by a subcommittee. After hearings and reviews, the bill is marked up, voted on, and referred to the other chamber. If the bill passes in identical form in both chambers, it is sent to the President for approval. If the President approves, the bill becomes law. This process can vary in different countries, but the fundamental principle of a bill being debated and passed by a majority vote remains the same.

A bill is drafted

Any member of Congress – either from the Senate or the House of Representatives – who has an idea for a law can draft a bill. These ideas can come from the members of Congress themselves, or from everyday citizens and advocacy groups. The primary Congress member supporting the bill is called the "sponsor", and any other members who support the bill are called "co-sponsors".

The bill must comply with the Rules of the House. The presiding officer (the Speaker or the Chair of the Committee of the Whole) will ultimately decide whether it does, but they will take into account the recommendations of the Parliamentarian of the House of Representatives. The Office of the Parliamentarian will review a draft upon request and identify any parliamentary problems, offering suggestions for how to solve them. They can also advise on which committee the bill is likely to be referred to, and recommend drafting strategies for influencing referral.

The House Office of the Legislative Counsel provides an online guide to the drafting style and conventions used to facilitate communication and collaboration between the attorneys of the Office and their clients. This includes information on the following:

• Forms of legislation
• How Federal statutes are organized
• Public Laws, the Statutes at Large, and the United States Code
• Positive versus non-positive law titles of the U.S. Code
• Organization within a bill
• General template for structuring content
• Deciding whether a bill should be freestanding or amendatory
• Distinguishing material "outside the quotes" from material "inside the quotes"
• Use of particular legislative provisions
• Three important conventions

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. 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.

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. 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.

Once a bill is introduced, it is assigned to a committee whose members will research, discuss, and make changes to the bill. Committees are composed of groups of Congress members with a particular interest or expertise in a certain topic, such as health, international affairs, agriculture, education, or international relations. The committee carefully examines the bill and determines its chances of passage by the entire Congress. The committee may hold hearings to better understand the bill's implications, allowing the views of experts, public officials, and supporters and opponents of the bill to be recorded.

If the committee does not act on a bill, it is considered "dead". If the committee approves a bill, it is sent 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. Once the hearings and subcommittee review are completed, the committee will meet to make any final changes and amendments before recommending the bill to the "floor".

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 made up of groups of Congress members who are particularly interested in different topics, such as health or international affairs. The Speaker of the House or the presiding officer in the Senate refers the bill to the appropriate committee. In the House, the Speaker, on the advice of the nonpartisan parliamentarian, refers bills to all committees that have jurisdiction over the provisions in the bill. In the Senate, bills are typically referred to only one committee with jurisdiction over the predominant issue in the bill. In rare cases, a bill might not be referred to a committee and instead be placed directly on the Senate Calendar of Business.

Committees are composed of groups of Congress members with a particular interest in the topic of the bill. 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. Committees can hold hearings to better understand the implications of the bill and put the views of the executive branch, experts, other public officials, supporters, and opponents on the record.

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 the hearings and subcommittee review are completed, the committee will meet to "mark up" the bill, making changes and amendments prior to 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.

A bill is reviewed by a subcommittee

A congressional subcommittee is a subdivision of a United States congressional committee that considers specified matters and reports back to the full committee. Subcommittees are organised under committees and have further specialisation on a certain topic. For example, the House Committee on Ways and Means includes subcommittees on Social Security and Trade.

The subcommittee may make changes to the bill and must vote to refer it back to the full committee. If the members of the subcommittee agree to move a bill forward, it is reported to the full committee, where the process is repeated. If the full committee votes to approve the bill, it is reported to the floor of the House or Senate, and the majority party leadership decides when to place the bill on the calendar for consideration.

The subcommittee has general responsibility for measures or matters within the committee's jurisdiction related to process and procedures. For instance, the Subcommittee on Rules and Organization of the House has responsibility for matters related to the process and procedures of the House, relations between the two Houses of Congress, and relations between the Congress and the Judiciary.

A bill is marked up by the committee

Once a bill has been introduced, it is referred to a committee. Committees are composed of groups of Congress members with a particular interest in a given topic, such as health or international affairs. The committee chair has the authority to set the agenda and identify the bills the committee will act on. The committee will often hold hearings to better understand the implications of the bill and to hear from interested parties, including the public.

After hearings are completed, the bill is considered in a session known as the "mark-up" session. During this session, committee members study the viewpoints presented in detail and consider possible changes to the proposal by offering and voting on amendments. Amendments may be offered to the bill, and the committee members vote to accept or reject these changes. This process can take place at either the subcommittee level, the full committee level, or both.

At the conclusion of the mark-up session, the committee will meet to "mark up" the bill, making changes and amendments before recommending the bill to the "floor" of the chamber. If the committee votes against reporting legislation to the full chamber of Congress, the bill dies. If they vote in favour, it is reported to the floor. This procedure is called "ordering a bill reported".

If substantial amendments are made during the mark-up session, the committee can order the introduction of a "clean bill", which will include all 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 then approve, change, or reject all committee amendments before conducting a final passage vote.

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