The Evolution Of Laws: Temporary To Permanent

The process of turning a bill into a law is a complex one, and in the United States, it involves multiple stages of approval and revisions. Once a bill is proposed by a member of Congress, it must be approved by both houses of Congress before being presented to the President, who has the option to either approve or veto it. If the bill is approved by the President, it becomes an act or a statute. However, the process doesn't end there. The act is then standardised by the House of Representatives and published in the United States Code (U.S.C.), which is a codification of all general and permanent laws of the United States.

The law is proposed by a member of Congress

In the United States, the law-making branch of the federal government is Congress, which consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives. A bill is a proposal for a new law or a change to an existing law, and can be proposed by a sitting member of the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives, or be suggested during their election campaign. Bills can also be petitioned by citizens or citizen groups, who recommend a new or amended law to a member of Congress.

Once a bill is introduced, it is assigned to a committee, whose members will research, discuss, and make changes to the bill. The bill is then put before that chamber to be voted on. If the bill passes one body of Congress, it goes to the other body to go through a similar process of research, discussion, changes, and voting. Once both bodies vote to accept a bill, they must work out any differences between the two versions. Then both chambers vote on the same version of the bill. If it passes, they present it to the president for approval.

The president then considers the bill and can either approve it, or veto it. If the president chooses to veto a bill, in most cases, Congress can vote to override that veto and the bill becomes a law. However, if the president does not sign off on a bill and it remains unsigned when Congress is no longer in session, the bill will be vetoed by default. This action is called a pocket veto, and it cannot be overridden by Congress.

Once a bill has been approved by both houses of Congress, it is delivered to the Office of the Federal Register (OFR) and assigned a law number and legal statutory citation. The OFR also prepares marginal notes and citations for each law, and a legislative history for public laws. The text of the law can be found by accessing the enrolled version of the bill until it is published as a slip law.

Slip laws are official publications of the law and are "competent evidence", admissible in all state and federal courts and tribunals of the United States. After the slip law is published, the law is incorporated into the United States Code, which is a codification of all general and permanent laws of the United States.

It is then approved by the House of Representatives

In the United States, the process of making a law is a lengthy one. 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 introduced, it is assigned to a committee, whose members will research, discuss, and make changes to the bill. The bill is then put before that chamber to be voted on. If the bill passes one body of Congress, it goes to the other body to go through a similar process of research, discussion, changes, and voting. Once both bodies vote to accept a bill, they must work out any differences between the two versions. Then both chambers vote on the same version of the bill. If it passes, they present it to the president.

The president then considers the bill. They can approve the bill and sign it into law or refuse to approve it by vetoing it. If the president chooses to veto a bill, Congress can vote to override that veto, and the bill becomes a law. However, if the president does not sign off on a bill and it remains unsigned when Congress is no longer in session, the bill will be vetoed by default, in what is known as a "pocket veto". This action cannot be overridden by Congress.

The House of Representatives is one of the two bodies that make up Congress, the lawmaking branch of the federal government. As the majority of laws originate in the House of Representatives, this discussion will focus principally on the procedure in that body.

Once a bill is introduced in the House of Representatives, any member, delegate, or resident commissioner from Puerto Rico may propose it at any time while the House is in session by simply placing it in the "hopper," a wooden box provided for that purpose. The member introducing the bill is known as the primary sponsor, and an unlimited number of members can cosponsor a bill. To prevent the possibility that a bill might be introduced without a member's prior approval, the primary sponsor's signature must appear on the bill before it is accepted for introduction.

In the House of Representatives, bills are usually introduced by simply placing them in the hopper, without any comment from the floor of the House. However, a more formal procedure can be followed, in which a senator rises and introduces the bill from the floor, usually accompanied by a statement about the measure.

Once introduced, the bill is assigned a legislative number by the Clerk and then referred to the appropriate committee or committees for consideration. The bill number and committee referral appear in the next issue of the Congressional Record, and printed and electronic versions of the bill are made available to the public.

The committee stage is perhaps the most important phase of the legislative process. Committees provide intensive consideration of a proposed measure and a forum for public input. There are currently 20 standing committees in the House, each with jurisdiction over certain subject matters. For example, the Committee on the Judiciary has jurisdiction over measures relating to judicial proceedings, constitutional amendments, immigration policy, bankruptcy, patents, copyrights, and trademarks.

Committees can hold public hearings on bills, during which witnesses testify either voluntarily or by subpoena. Cabinet officers, high-ranking government officials, and interested private individuals may be among those testifying. Witnesses are usually required to file a written statement of their proposed testimony in advance and limit their oral presentations to a brief summary.

After hearings are completed, the subcommittee will usually meet to consider the bill in a "markup" session, where the views of both sides are studied in detail before a vote is taken to determine the subcommittee's action on the bill. The subcommittee may decide to report the bill favourably to the full committee, with or without amendments, or unfavourably, or without recommendation.

At full committee meetings, reports on bills may be presented by subcommittees. Bills are read for amendment in committees by section, and members may offer germane amendments. A vote of committee members is then taken to determine whether the full committee will report the bill favourably, adversely, or without recommendation.

If the committee votes to report the bill favourably to the House, it may do so with or without amendments. If extensive amendments are approved, the committee may decide to report the original bill with one "amendment in the nature of a substitute" consisting of all the amendments previously adopted, or it may introduce and report a new bill incorporating those amendments, known as a "clean" bill.

If the committee has reported the bill favourably, it is then ready to be considered by the full House of Representatives. The House of Representatives considers bills in one of two ways: in the Committee of the Whole House or on the House floor. The Committee of the Whole House is a parliamentary mechanism that enables the House to act with a quorum of less than the requisite majority of the entire House. A quorum in the Committee of the Whole is 100 members.

The rules of the House provide for several methods of voting, including voice votes, divisions, and recorded votes. Voice votes are usually taken first, in which the Chair puts the question: "As many as are in favour say 'Aye'. As many as are opposed, say 'No'." The Chair then determines the result by comparing the volume of ayes and noes. If it is difficult to determine the result of a voice vote, a division may be demanded, in which the Chair states: "As many as are in favour will rise and stand until counted." After counting those in favour, those opposed are counted.

If any member requests a recorded vote, and that request is supported by at least one-fifth of a quorum of the House, the vote is taken by electronic device. After the recorded vote is concluded, the names of those voting and those not voting are entered into the Journal. Members have a minimum of 15 minutes to be counted from the time the record vote is ordered.

Once a bill has been considered and voted on by the House of Representatives, if it is approved, it then goes through a similar process in the Senate, the other body that makes up Congress. If the Senate also approves the bill, it is then presented to the president for their consideration. If the president approves the bill, it becomes a law, or an "act" or "statute".

The bill is then sent to the President for approval

In the United States, the process of turning a bill into a law is a complex one. Once a bill has been introduced, it is assigned to a committee, which will research, discuss, and make changes to it. 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 voted to accept a bill, they must work out any differences between the two versions and then vote on the same version of the bill. If it passes, it is presented to the President for approval.

The President can choose to approve the bill and sign it into law, or veto it. If the President chooses to veto a bill, Congress can override the veto and the bill becomes a law. However, if the President does not sign off on a bill and it remains unsigned when Congress is no longer in session, the bill will be vetoed by default, in what is known as a "pocket veto". This cannot be overridden by Congress.

Once a bill has been approved by the President or passed over a veto, it is sent to the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), where it is assigned a law number and prepared for publication as a slip law. It is then published in the United States Statutes at Large, which is a permanent, bound volume of the laws for each session of Congress.

Every six years, public laws are incorporated into the United States Code, which is a codification of all general and permanent laws of the United States. A supplement to the United States Code is published during each interim year until the next comprehensive volume is published. The Code is arranged by subject matter and shows the present status of laws, with amendments already incorporated into the text.

The law is then published in the United States Code

Once a bill has been passed by both houses of Congress and signed into law by the President, it is delivered to the Office of the Federal Register (OFR), National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Here, it is assigned a law number and a legal statutory citation before being published as a slip law.

The House of Representatives then standardises the text of the law and publishes it in the United States Code (U.S.C.). The U.S.C. is a subject-based codification of all general and permanent laws of the United States. Since 1926, the U.S.C. has been published every six years, with annual cumulative supplements published in the interim.

The U.S.C. is maintained as a separate collection and is available from the Government Printing Office (GPO), the sole agency authorised by the federal government to publish the U.S.C.

The law is enforced by government agencies

In the United States, the law-making branch of the federal government is Congress, which consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The legislative process is designed to be a lengthy one, with multiple steps and safeguards in place to ensure that a proposal is thoroughly considered and debated before it becomes law.

Once a bill has been introduced, it is assigned to a committee, whose members will research, discuss, and make changes to it. The bill is then put before the chamber to be voted on. If it passes one body of Congress, it goes through a similar process in the other body. Once both bodies vote to accept a bill, they must work out any differences between the two versions, before both chambers vote on the same version of the bill. If it passes, it is then presented to the President.

The President can either approve the bill and sign it into law, or refuse to approve it, which is called a veto. If the President chooses to veto a bill, Congress can override that veto, and the bill becomes a law. However, if the President does not sign off on a bill and it remains unsigned when Congress is no longer in session, the bill will be vetoed by default, which is called a pocket veto.

Once a bill has been approved by both houses of Congress, it is delivered to the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), where it is assigned a law number and prepared for publication as a slip law. The slip law is an official publication of the law and is admissible in all state and federal courts and tribunals of the United States.

After a law is passed, Congress authorizes certain government agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to create regulations to explain how individuals, businesses, state or local governments, and others might follow the law. Regulations set specific requirements about what is legal and what isn't. For example, a regulation issued by the EPA to implement the Clean Air Act might explain what levels of a pollutant are safe for human health and the environment. It would tell industries how much of that pollutant they can legally emit, and outline the penalty for exceeding that limit.

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