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The Legislative Process: Elaine Ruby B. Elihay Gr. 11-St. Rita

The legislative process involves 13 steps to pass a bill into law. Bills are first referred to committees where they are reviewed, debated, and can be amended. If approved by the committee, bills move to the floor for debate and a vote in that chamber. Approved bills then go to the other chamber, where they repeat committee and floor steps. Differences between versions are reconciled in conference committees. Final approval by both chambers sends a bill to the President, who can sign it into law, veto it and face an override vote, or take no action.

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122 views3 pages

The Legislative Process: Elaine Ruby B. Elihay Gr. 11-St. Rita

The legislative process involves 13 steps to pass a bill into law. Bills are first referred to committees where they are reviewed, debated, and can be amended. If approved by the committee, bills move to the floor for debate and a vote in that chamber. Approved bills then go to the other chamber, where they repeat committee and floor steps. Differences between versions are reconciled in conference committees. Final approval by both chambers sends a bill to the President, who can sign it into law, veto it and face an override vote, or take no action.

Uploaded by

Arlyn Apple Elihay
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Elaine Ruby B. Elihay Gr. 11-St.

Rita

The Legislative Process


Introduction
Anyone may draft a bill; however, only members of Congress can introduce legislation, and by
doing so become the sponsor(s). There are four basic types of legislation: bills, joint resolutions,
concurrent resolutions, and simple resolutions. The official legislative process begins when a bill
or resolution is numbered H.R. signifies a House bill and S. a Senate bill referred to a
committee and printed by the Government Printing Office.

Step 1. Referral to Committee


With few exceptions, bills are referred to standing committees in the House or Senate
according to carefully delineated rules of procedure.

Step 2. Committee Action


When a bill reaches a committee it is placed on the committees calendar. A bill can be referred
to a subcommittee or considered by the committee as a whole. It is at this point that a bill is
examined carefully and its chances for passage are determined. If the committee does not act
on a bill, it is the equivalent of killing it.

Step 3. Subcommittee Review


Often, bills are referred to a subcommittee for study and hearings. Hearings provide the
opportunity to put on the record the views of the executive branch, experts, other public
officials, supporters and opponents of the legislation. Testimony can be given in person or
submitted as a written statement.
Step 4. Mark Up
When the hearings are completed, the subcommittee may meet to mark-up the bill, that is,
make changes and amendments prior to recommending the bill to the full committee. If a
subcommittee votes not to report legislation to the full committee, the bill dies.

Step 5. Committee Action to Report a Bill


After receiving a subcommittees report on a bill, the full committee can conduct further study
and hearings, or it can vote on the subcommittees recommendations and any proposed
amendments. The full committee then votes on its recommendation to the House or Senate.
This procedure is called ordering a bill reported.

Step 6. Publication of a Written Report


After a committee votes to have a bill reported, the committee chairman instructs staff to
prepare a written report on the bill. This report describes the intent and scope of the
legislation, impact on existing laws and programs, position of the executive branch, and views
of dissenting members of the committee.

Step 7. Scheduling Floor Action


After a bill is reported back to the chamber where it originated, it is placed in chronological
order on the calendar. In the House there are several different legislative calendars, and the
Speaker and majority leader largely determine if, when, and in what order bills come up. In the
Senate there is only one legislative calendar.

Step 8. Debate
When a bill reaches the floor of the House or Senate, there are rules or procedures governing
the debate on legislation. These rules determine the conditions and amount of time allocated
for general debate.
Step 9. Voting
After the debate and the approval of any amendments, the bill is passed or defeated by the
members voting.

Step 10. Referral to Other Chamber


When a bill is passed by the House or the Senate it is referred to the other chamber where it
usually follows the same route through committee and floor action. This chamber may approve
the bill as received, reject it, ignore it, or change it.

Step 11. Conference Committee Action


If only minor changes are made to a bill by the other chamber, it is common for the legislation
to go back to the first chamber for concurrence. However, when the actions of the other
chamber significantly alter the bill, a conference committee is formed to reconcile the
differences between the House and Senate versions. If the conferees are unable to reach
agreement, the legislation dies. If agreement is reached, a conference report is prepared
describing the committee members recommendations for changes. Both the House and the
Senate must approve of the conference report.

Step 12. Final Actions


After a bill has been approved by both the House and Senate in identical form, it is sent to the
President. If the President approves of the legislation he/she signs it and it becomes law. Or,
the President can take no action for ten days, while Congress is in session, and it automatically
becomes law. If the President opposes the bill he/she can veto it; or, if he/she takes no action
after the Congress has adjourned its second session, it is a pocket veto and the legislation
dies.

Step 13. Overriding a Veto


If the President vetoes a bill, Congress may attempt to override the veto. This requires a two
thirds roll call vote of the members who are present in sufficient numbers for a quorum.

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