Legislative Process

All laws begin as ideas and an idea for a law can come from anyone, even you!

A bill, the most common type of measure, is a proposal for a law. The path of a bill, from the time it is just an idea to the time it arrives at the Governor's desk for approval, takes many turns. Think of the Legislature as having two separate "teams"--the Senate and the House of Representatives (also called "chambers"). Members of the Senate are called "Senators" and members of the House of Representatives are called "Representatives." All members are referred to as "legislators." In order for a bill to become law, each team gets a turn to take possession of it. Both teams must agree that the bill should become law before the Governor takes possession of it. We'll use an example of a bill that starts in the House of Representatives.

• An idea to change or create a new law is presented to a Representative.
• The Representative decides to sponsor the bill and introduce it to the House of Representatives, and asks that the lawyers in the Legislative Counsel office to put the bill in the correct legal language.
  
• The bill is then presented to the Chief Clerk of the House, who gives the bill a number.
• After it is printed, the bill is given the first reading and the Speaker sends it to a committee.
• The committee studies the bill and has public hearings and work sessions. During the hearings, the legislators want to hear how citizens (that means you too!) feel about the bill.
• The committee can make changes, or amendments, to the bill. If the committee decides that the bill would be a good law, they send it back to the House for the second reading.
• After the third reading, the House of Representatives vote on the bill. To pass, the bill must receive aye votes of a majority of members (31 in the House, 16 in the Senate).
• If the bill passes in the House, it is sent to the Senate. The same steps are followed in the Senate.
  The bill is read for the first time and the Senate President assigns it to committee. The committee sends the bill back to the Senate where the bill is given the second and third readings.
• If the bill is passed in the Senate without changes, it is sent back to the House for enrolling.
• If the bill is amended in the Senate by even one word, it must be sent back to the House for concurrence, or agreement. If the House does not concur with the amendments, the leaders of each body pick a conference committee to write a bill that both the House and the Senate can accept.
• After the bill has passed both houses in the same form, it is signed by three officers: the Speaker of the House, the Senate President, and the Chief Clerk of the House or Secretary of the Senate, depending on where the bill started.
• The enrolled bill is then sent to the Governor who has five days to take action. If the Legislative Assembly is adjourned the Governor has 30 days to consider it.
• The law becomes effective on January 1 following the year that the bill passed. There are some cases when a different date is assigned.
  
  

  Would you like to see a diagram of the process?


Amendment: A change to be made to a measure. Measures may be amended more than once.
Enrolled Bill: A final copy of a bill which has passed both houses of the Legislature and is ready for the signatures of the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House. After these signatures, the enrolled bill goes to the Governor.
First Reading: The reading, on the chamber floor, of the measure number, title, and sponsor by the reading clerk.
Hearing: A public meeting of a legislative committee held for the purpose of taking testimony concerning proposed legislation.
Second Reading: Like the First Reading, a reading of the measure’s number, title, and sponsor by the reading clerk . Second Reading occurs after the measure has been sent to committee, worked on, and reported back to the floor for a vote.

Sponsor: The legislator(s), state agency, or legislative committee which introduces a measure. The name of this person or committee is printed at the top of the measure.
Third Reading: As in First or Second Readings, a reading of a measure’s number, title, and sponsor by the reading clerk on the floor, usually done before a final vote.

return to Kid's homepage