HOW A BILL BECOMES A LAW

Introduction

Anyone may draft a bill or legislation. However, only members of the United States Congress – a Representative or Senator -- can introduce legislation, and by doing so become the sponsor(s). There are four basic types of legislation: (1) bills; (2) joint resolutions; (3) concurrent resolutions; and (4) simple resolutions. The official legislative process begins when a bill or resolution is numbered – i.e., H.R. signifies a House of Representatives bill and S. a Senate bill – referred to a committee and printed by the Government Printing Office. Below are the following steps in how a bill becomes a law:

Step 1. Referral to a Committee. Bills are usually referred to standing committees in the House or Senate (e.g., House Transportation & Infrastructure) according to carefully delineated rules of procedure.

Step 2. Committee Action. When a bill reaches a committee it is placed on the committee’s 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 hearing. Hearings provide the opportunity to put on the legislative record the views of the Executive Branch, experts, other public officials, constituents (e.g., corporations, citizens), supporters and opponents. It also provides legislative history and preserves the intent of the U.S. Congress. Testimony can be in person or may be submitted in writing.

Step 4. Mark Up. When the hearings are completed, the subcommittee may meet to “mark up” the bill – i.e., to 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 subcommittee’s report on a bill, the full committee can conduct further study and hearings, or it can vote on the subcommittee’s 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 Chairman instructs the legislative staff (e.g., Legislative Counsel and/or Professional Staff Member) to prepare a Committee 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 Congress.

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. These rules determine the conditions and amount of time allocated for 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 the Other Chamber. When a bill is passed by the House or Senate, it is then 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 House-Senate Conference Committee is formed to reconcile the differences. The conferees to this special committee are generally members from the committee with jurisdiction over the legislation. If the conferees are unable to reach an agreement, the legislation dies. If agreement is reached, however, a Conference Committee Report is prepared describing the committee members’ recommendations for changes. Both the House and Senate must approve of the report.

Step 12. Final Action. After a bill has been approved by the House and Senate in identical form, it is then sent to the President. If the President approves of the legislation, he 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 can veto it; or if he takes no action after the Congress has adjourned its second session (each Congress has two legislative sessions), 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 of Congress who are present in sufficient numbers for a quorum.