How does a bill become a laws?

Answer 1

Basically, this is how a bill becomes federal law in the US

1. A bill may be introduced in either the Senate or House of Representatives by a member. Tax bill smust originate in the House, but there are ways around this restriction.
2. It is referred to a committee for a hearing. The committee studies the bill and may hold public hearings on it. It can then pass, reject, or take no action on the bill. Many bills die in committee.
3. The committee report on the passed bill is read in open session of the House or Senate, and the bill is then referred to the Rules Committee.
4. The Rules Committee can either place the bill on the second reading calendar for debate before the entire body, or take no action.
5. At the second reading, a bill is subject to debate and amendment before being placed on the third reading calendar for final passage.
6. After passing one house, the bill goes through the same procedure in the other house.
7. If amendments are made in the other house, the first house must approve the changes.
8. When the bill is accepted in both houses, it is signed by the respective leaders and sent to the President .
9. The President can either sign it into law or send it back (veto it ) with his objections. If he vetoes the bill, Congress can make it law without the president's signature by passing it with a 2/3 favorable vote in both houses.

   If the president just ignores the bill, it becomes law in ten days without his signature, unless Congress adjourns before these ten days are up. In the latter case, the bill does not become law.

Most US states follow a similar process for state laws with the state governor playing the role of the President.

Answer 2

Step 1: How Your Idea Becomes A Bill

All legislation starts off as an idea. these ideas can come from anybody and the process begins when either an individual or group persuades a Member of the Legislature to author a bill. The Member then sends the idea and the language for the bill to the Legislative Counsel's Office where it is drafted into the actual bill. The drafted bill is returned to the legislator for his or her review. Persons or groups that originated the idea for the bill may also review it to ensure that the provisions they desire are in the bill in the correct form. If the author is a Senator, the bill is introduced at the Senate Desk; if an Assemblymember, at the Assembly Desk, where it is assigned a number and read for the first time.

Step 2: What To Do When Your Bill Goes To Policy Committee

The bill then goes to the Senate or Assembly Rules committee where it is assigned to a policy committee. You can find out where your bill is assigned by calling the author. Since bills are not heard in policy committee until 30 days after they have been introduced and printed, there is plenty of time to investigate a bill or contact your legislator to communicate your position on the bill.

Each bill must appear in the Daily File for four days prior to being heard in a committee. The Daily File is the agenda of the day's business, together with public notice of bills set for committee hearings. By checking the File, you can keep track of bills that are being scheduled for committee. If you live out of town and plan to testify at the hearing, it is a good idea to call the author or your legislator to make sure that the bill is going to be heard on that date. Sometimes bills are taken off the agenda at the last moment.

At this point, the role of the district Office should be emphasized. District Office staff are there to serve the needs of constituents. They can be extremely helpful in making contacts and getting information from Sacramento.

It is a good idea to schedule a meeting with your legislator while he or she is in the district. Communicate your concerns regarding legislation. Indicate that you want to work with the Member's office on a particular issue.

Most bills generate support and opposition from a variety of groups. Find out who these groups or individuals are by calling the author's office where lists of the letters and phone calls received on each bill are kept. A good strategy is to align yourself with the groups that hold your position and work together to talk to the members of the committee BEFORE the bill is heard. Keep your letters and discussions with the legislators short and to the point.

When testifying before the committee, first state your name and the organization that you represent or indicate that you are a concerned citizen and state where you live. The members of the committee will be interested to hear what you have to say and usually do not grill individual citizens who testify in the same way that they do lobbyists. Keep your testimony short and to the point.

Step 3: What If Your Bill Goes To A Fiscal Committee?

If the bill has a fiscal impact or a state cost, it will be heard in either the Senate or Assembly Appropriations Committees. At this point, you should inform the members of the committee why you support or oppose the bill based on a fiscal argument. The finance committees are concerned about fiscal impact and not policy considerations.

Try to see the staff analysis that has been done on the bill by the policy committee, the Department of Finance, and/or the Legislative Analyst. Members of the fiscal committees read these analyses before they vote. These analyses are available on the internet.

If you believe that the numbers or the fiscal impact of the bill are not correct as reported in these analyses you should prepare your written comments before the committee meets. Your written material should be available to pass out to the committee members at the hearing where you present your testimony.

After the bill passes the fiscal committee, it is read for the second time on the Floor.

Step 4: After Your Bill Passes The House Of Origin And Goes To The Second House

Third Reading is the last stage that a bill goes through in the House of Origin before it passes to the second House to go through the committee process all over again. On Third Reading, the author presents the bill for passage by the entire house. Most bills require a majority vote (it must pass by 21 votes in the Senate and 41 votes in the Assembly), while urgency measures and appropriation bills require a two-thirds vote (27 in the Senate, 54 in the Assembly).

At any time during the legislative process the bill may be amended, either in committee or on the Floor. After the amendments have been submitted to the author, the bill goes to another printing to reflect the changes that have been made. the Senate or Assembly History records the dates when a bill has been amended. Amendments can be substantial or technical and may affect your position on the bill.

Amendments should be followed very carefully and contact with the District Office can be helpful in keeping track of current versions of a bill. If you "subscribe" to the bill, these amendments will automatically be sent to you. If you change your position on a bill due to a favorable or unfavorable amendment, you should inform the author and your legislator.

If a Senate bill is amended by the Assembly, or vice versa, and the House of Origin refuses to concur in those amendments, the bill will go to a conference committee. If the House of Origin does concur, the bill goes to the governor.

Members of the conference committee are appointed by the Rules Committees; three members from the Senate and three from the Assembly meet to negotiate out the differences. If they agree on a single version, it goes back to both Floors for approval.

Communicate to your legislator or the author which amendments you prefer and why. The conference committee meetings, particularly at the end of the two-year legislative session, are scheduled quickly and can be easily missed. You must stay in close contact with the author's staff to stay on top of fast-breaking developments. It is also important to know who will be serving on the conference committee so you can inform them of your position.

Step 5: You Can Still Act After Your Bill Goes To The Governor

The Governor has 12 days to sign, approve without signing, or veto a bill. A letter or phone call to the Governor's Office is appropriate to state your position on the bill.

If the bill is signed or approved without a signature, it goes to the Secretary of State to be chaptered. If the governor vetoes the bill, a two-thirds vote in each house is needed to override the veto. The Governor's office releases veto messages which explain the veto; these messages are available from the Governor's Office and on the Internet.

Answer 3

How a bill becomes a law:

1. Someone tells their idea to a legislator.
2. The bill waits in the docket until it's introduced to either the House or the Senate.
3. The bill is assigned a number, and is then sent to a special committee. This committee will revise it, and sometimes send it to a smaller committee.
4. The committee chooses a day for Congress to hear the bill if it's deemed good enough.
5. It's then revised and changed as necessary.
6. The House of Representatives will either reject or approve the bill, and the Senate does the same.
7. Once it is approved by both, it becomes enrolled, and the engrossed version of the bill is then sent to the White House for the President to look over.
8. The President can then either sign the bill into law, or veto (reject) it.
9. If vetoed by the President, Congress has the option to override the veto. If Congress decides to do that, 2/3 of the members of Congress, or 357 members since there are a total of 535 members: 435 in the House of Representatives and 100 in the Senate, must approve this.
10. If 2/3 of Congress agrees, then the bill is a law.

Creating laws is the most important job. All laws in the United States begin as bills. Before a bill can become a law, it must be approved by the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, and the President. Let's follow a bill's journey to become law.

The Bill BeginsLaws begin as ideas. These ideas may come from a from a citizen like you. Citizens who have ideas for laws can contact their Representatives to discuss their ideas. If the Representatives agree, they research the ideas and write them into bills. The Bill Is ProposedWhen a Representative has written a bill, the bill needs a sponsor. The Representative talks with other Representatives about the bill in hopes of getting their support for it. Once a bill has a sponsor and the support of some of the Representatives, it is ready to be introduced. The Bill Is IntroducedIn 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. 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. The Bill Goes to CommitteeWhen the bill reaches committee, the committee members-groups of Representatives who are experts on topics such as agriculture, education, or international relations-review, research, and revise the bill before voting on whether or not to send the bill back to the floor.

If the committee members would like more information before deciding if the bill should be sent to the House floor, the bill is sent to a subcommittee. While in subcommittee, the bill is closely examined and expert opinions are gathered before it is sent back to the committee for approval.

The Bill Is ReportedWhen the committee has approved a bill, it is sent-or reported-to the House floor. Once reported, a bill is ready to be debated by the U.S. House of Representatives. The Bill Is DebatedWhen a bill is debated, Representatives discuss the bill and explain why they agree or disagree with it. Then, a reading clerk reads the bill section by section and the Representatives recommend changes. When all changes have been made, the bill is ready to be voted on. The Bill Is Voted OnThere are three methods for voting on a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives:

1. Viva Voce (voice vote): The Speaker of the House asks the Representatives who support the bill to say "aye" and those that oppose it say "no."
2. Division: The Speaker of the House asks those Representatives who support the bill to stand up and be counted, and then those who oppose the bill to stand up and be counted.
3. Recorded: Representatives record their vote using the electronic voting system. Representatives can vote yes, no, or present (if they don't want to vote on the bill).

If a majority of the Representatives say or select yes, the bill passes in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill is then certified by the Clerk of the House and delivered to the U.S. Senate.

The Bill Is Referred to the SenateWhen a bill reaches the U.S. Senate, it goes through many of the same steps it went through in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill is discussed in a Senate committee and then reported to the Senate floor to be voted on.

Senators vote by voice. Those who support the bill say "yea," and those who oppose it say "nay." If a majority of the Senators say "yea," the bill passes in the U.S. Senate and is ready to go to the President.

The Bill Is Sent to the PresidentWhen a bill reaches the President, he has three choices. He can:

1. Sign and pass the bill-the bill becomes a law.
2. Refuse to sign, or veto, the bill-the bill is sent back to the U.S. House of Representatives, along with the President's reasons for the veto. If the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate still believe the bill should become a 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.
3. Do nothing (pocket veto)-if Congress is in session, the bill automatically becomes law after 10 days. If Congress is not in session, the bill does not become a law.

The Bill Is a Law

If a bill has passed in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate and has been approved by the President, or if a presidential veto has been overridden, the bill becomes a law and is enforced by the government.