Who Holds The Power To Enact Laws?

The process of a bill becoming a law is a complex one, and it differs slightly between states and at the federal level. However, the general process is as follows: a bill is proposed, usually by a member of the House of Representatives or the Senate, and is then assigned to a committee. The committee researches, discusses, and makes changes to the bill before putting it before the chamber to be voted on. If the bill 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, and then both chambers vote on the same version of the bill. If it passes, they present it to the president, who can sign it into law or veto it. If the president chooses to veto, Congress can vote to override that veto, and the bill becomes a law.

Bills are proposed by a sitting member of the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives

The legislative process begins with the introduction of a bill to Congress. Any member of Congress can introduce a bill, although important bills are often introduced at the request of the President. After being introduced, a bill is referred to the appropriate committee for review. There are 17 Senate committees, with 70 subcommittees, and 23 House committees, with 104 subcommittees. Committees are subject to change with each new Congress as required for the efficient consideration of legislation. Each committee oversees a specific policy area, and the subcommittees take on more specialised policy areas. For example, the House Committee on Ways and Means includes subcommittees on Social Security and Trade.

A bill is first considered in a subcommittee, where it may be accepted, amended, or rejected entirely. If the members of the subcommittee agree to move a bill forward, it is reported to the full committee, where the process is repeated again. Throughout this stage of the process, the committees and subcommittees call hearings to investigate the merits and flaws of the bill. They invite experts, advocates, and opponents to appear before the committee and provide testimony, and can compel people to appear using subpoena power if necessary.

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. If a bill is particularly pressing, it may be considered right away. Others may wait for months or never be scheduled at all.

When the bill comes up for consideration, the House has a very structured debate process. Each member who wishes to speak only has a few minutes, and the number and kind of amendments are usually limited. In the Senate, debate on most bills is unlimited—Senators may speak to issues other than the bill under consideration during their speeches, and any amendment can be introduced. Senators can use this to filibuster bills under consideration, a procedure by which a Senator delays a vote on a bill—and by extension its passage—by refusing to stand down. A supermajority of 60 Senators can break a filibuster by invoking cloture, or the cession of debate on the bill, and forcing a vote. Once debate is over, the votes of a simple majority pass the bill.

A bill must pass both houses of Congress before it goes to the President for consideration. Though the Constitution requires that the two bills have the exact same wording, this rarely happens in practice. To bring the bills into alignment, a Conference Committee is convened, consisting of members from both chambers. The members of the committee produce a conference report, intended as the final version of the bill. Each chamber then votes again to approve the conference report. Depending on where the bill originated, the final text is then enrolled by either the Clerk of the House or the Secretary of the Senate, and presented to the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate for their signatures. The bill is then sent to the President.

Bills are drafted by the Legislative Counsel

Once an idea for a bill has been developed, the legislator acting as the author sends the idea and language for the bill to the Legislative Counsel, where it is drafted into the actual bill. The drafted bill is then returned to the legislator for introduction. When the author wishes to introduce the bill, they deliver it to the Chief Clerk or Secretary, who gives the bill a number. The bill is then read for the first time, during which the clerk reads the bill number, the name of the author, and the descriptive title of the bill. The entire text of the bill is not read on the floor.

The bill is then sent electronically to the Office of State Printing and must be in print for 30 calendar days, giving time for public review, before it can be acted on. There are exceptions to this rule: Budget Bills, bills introduced in an Extraordinary Session, and resolutions are exempt. A three-fourths vote of the members of the house can dispense with the 30-day requirement.

The bill then goes to the Senate or Assembly Rules Committee, where it is assigned to the appropriate policy committee for its first hearing. Bills are assigned according to subject area. During the hearing, the author presents the bill, people testify in support or opposition of the bill, and the Committee acts on the bill. The Committee can pass the bill, pass the bill as amended, or defeat the bill. It takes a majority vote for the Committee to pass a bill. Bills that require money must also be heard in the Fiscal Committee, Senate and Assembly Appropriations.

Bills are assigned to a committee

Once a bill has been introduced, it is assigned to a committee whose members will research, discuss, and make changes to the bill. The committee will provide intensive consideration to the proposed measure and serve as a forum for the public to be heard.

In the House, the Speaker refers the bill to all committees that have jurisdiction over the provisions in the bill, as determined by the chamber's standing rules and past referral decisions. Most bills fall under the jurisdiction of one committee. If multiple committees are involved, each committee may only work on the portion of the bill under its jurisdiction, with one committee designated as the primary committee of jurisdiction. In the Senate, bills are typically referred to the committee with jurisdiction over the issue that predominates in the bill.

In both the House and the Senate, the referral decision is often made by the parliamentarian. 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.

Committees may request comments about the bill's merit from government agencies. The bill can also be assigned to a subcommittee by the Chairman. Hearings may be held, after which subcommittees report their findings to the full committee.

Finally, there is a vote by the full committee, after which the bill is "ordered to be reported". The committee will hold a "mark-up" session to make revisions and additions. If substantial amendments are made, the committee can order the introduction of a "clean bill" which will 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.

Bills are voted on by the House of Representatives

The House of Representatives has several powers that are exclusive to it, including the power to initiate revenue bills, impeach federal officials, and elect the President in the case of an Electoral College tie. Bills are generally introduced by members of the House of Representatives, although they can also be proposed by citizen groups or during election campaigns. 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 the chamber to be voted on. If the bill passes one body of Congress, it goes through a similar process in the other body.

The House of Representatives processes legislation through a majority vote, while the Senate does so through deliberation and debate prior to 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, and if it passes, they present it to the President. The President can then 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 vote to override that veto, and the bill becomes a law.

Bills are sent to the President to be signed into law

The President of the United States is the head of the executive branch and has the authority to sign bills into law. Once a bill has passed through both chambers of the United States Congress, it is presented to the President for approval. The President has a period of up to 10 days to sign the bill. If the President chooses to sign the bill within this time frame, it becomes law. If the President does not sign the bill within 10 days and Congress remains in session, the bill will still become law. However, if Congress adjourns before the 10-day period ends and the President has not signed the bill, it will not become law. This is known as a "pocket veto".

The President also has the power to veto a bill, either partially or in its entirety. If the President chooses to veto a bill, it is sent back to Congress with a message explaining the reasons for the veto. Congress can then attempt to override the veto by holding another vote on the bill. If two-thirds of the members of both the House and the Senate support the bill, the President's veto is overridden, and the bill becomes law.

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