How a Bill Becomes a Law

How a Bill Becomes a Law CP Chapter 12

The Rough Draft • Starts in Congress (House or Senate) • Researched • Passes • President signs it into a law

Where do Bills come from? • About 70% come from the President—Executive branch • About 20% come from interest groups • 10% from Congress • Rarely do private citizens get to submit bills

Types of Bills • Private – Pertains to certain persons or places • Public – Apply to the entire nation

Resolutions (like bills but not) • Not laws but some change in policy—internal rules • Joint Resolution – Must be signed by the President to be valid • Concurrent Resolution – Does not need President’s signature

How Many? • About 8-10,000 bills are proposed each year (30-40 each day) • 1,500-2,000 will pass into law (6-10 each day)

Lets get Started • Submitted by a member of Congress • First reading – The bill is assigned a number (HR- in the House; S- in the Senate) • Bill is referred to the Rules Committee *(It can be killed by the Rules committee)

The Rules Committee • The MOST powerful committee in the House • Sends bill to the appropriate standing committee for consideration

Committees Where the work is done for Congress • Chairperson – Majority party leader (Seniority Rule) • Odd number of congress members (majority party has larger # of seats)

Types of Committees • Standing • Select • Joint • Conference

Permanent or Temporary Standing • House OR Senate Joint • House AND Senate Select • House OR Senate Conference • House AND Senate

House Committees • 20 Standing (10-75 members) • 4 Joint • About 61 subcommittees • A member can sit on up to 6 standing and 6 sub

Step 2 • Rules Comm. Sends bill to appropriate Committee • Committee can pigeonhole or pass to sub-committee • Sub-committee researches

Sub-Committee Work 1. Junket (trip to investigate) 2. Expert testimony (listen to experts about the subject dealt with in bill) 3. Public hearing (non-experts that have knowledge or personal experience)

Sub-Committee Reports • A) Favorable (agree with the bill) • B) Unfavorable (disagree) • C) Refuse (no report- pigeonhole) • D) Amended (some change) • E) Committee bill (entirely new bill)

Step 3 Calendars (5) • Bill is put on a calendar (if not dead already) • Placed on 1 of the 5 Calendars (can die there) • Type of bill determines which calendar

Calendars • Union– Bills that have to do with spending money • House– Public bills • Private– Private bills • Correction– Minor issues from other calendars(“no–brainer”) • Discharge– Petition of discharge (end a pigeonhole)

Step 4 Debate • Called off the calendar by Speaker to the floor for debate – 2nd Reading • Can be pigeonholed (die) • Debate is run by Comm. Chair • Quorum – Number needed to vote for a bill (218) • No quorum=Comm. Of Whole

Debate • The Committee of the Whole (between 100 and 217) the House can do work as 1 large committee • Cannot call for a vote • Debate in the House is limited-- 1 hour total (1/2 FOR and 1/2 AGAINST)

Debate • Any one Rep. Can speak for 5 minutes • Debate can be ended at any time by the Speaker • Debate must be germane (on topic) • Riders/Amendments

Step 5 Voting • A few old ways • Today=Computer (Electronic voting) “Yea” “Nay” “Present” • If bill is PASSED (It can die)– 3rd Reading • Signed by Speaker • Sent to Senate

Senate • Introduced by a Senator – 1st Reading (may have come from the House) • Titled and numbered • Assigned to a committee by the Majority leader • -- Investigatory work same as House (or shared by House)

Senate Committees • 17 Standing (14-28 members) • 4 Joint • About 70 subcommittees • A member can serve on up to 2 standing and 6 sub

Calendar • Reported out of committee (70 sub-committees) • Placed TWO calendars – the Legislative or Executive • Called to floor by Majority leader for debate (pigeon hole)

Debate • Debate is UNLIMITED (can be NON-germane) • Filibuster – Senators try to talk a bill to death (minority) • Record 24 hours 18 min. • The threat of a filibuster is enough to table a bill

More Debate • Double Tracking – Bill is pulled off the calendar, sent back through committee to make it more acceptable; Avoid a filibuster • Cloture – 60 Senators need to vote to end filibuster • Hard to get 60

Voting • Roll call is most common • Still need a quorum (51) • W/o quorum—they go home • Bill in Senate must be Identical to House (riders)

Conference Committee • If bills are different in H/S • To get bill agreeable to both the House and Senate • If no agreement--dies

Action by the President • Usually (99%) signs it into law (2 ways) • Can veto it (2 ways) (dies)

1.Sign the bill 2. 10 Day Rule – President does not sign AND congress is IN session – bill passes 1. Pocket Veto–10 days not signed AND congress is NOT in session – bill dies 2. Veto –(letter of veto) Law Veto

Override by Congress • The Bill can still pass • -- Congress can override a veto (or pocket veto) with 2/3 vote in the House and Senate

End of the Line • Any bill that does not get called from a calendar for a vote dies at the end of the year • It must be reintroduced in the next session

How a Bill Becomes a Law