How a bill becomes law Mr. Langford’s class

Overview Where a bill comes from? Who decides it fate? What happens when? Who reviews it? Where does it go?

The House of Representatives Contains 435 members The 435 members are spread about by population status Also in House: –A member for Puerto Rico –A member for D.C. –Members for other U.S. territories –Do they have full voting rights?

The Senate 100 members 2 members from each state of the Union Not based upon population Why? What compromise in the 1700’s granted this?

The Start A bill can start in the House or Senate After it passes one house, must go to the next for approval Why is this necessary? What does this accomplish? Where is this power granted? For demonstration, we start in the House

Where does it come from? Senators Representatives President Special interest groups Everyday people

Who presents it? A Senator or Congressperson will present the bill for consideration Must be passed through the majority leader (Speaker of the House or Senate leader) Then the bill will be sent to a committee

House side Chairmen of the committee reviews bill Decides if it needs to go to a sub- committee or if should be debated by main committee

Sub-committee Chairmen reviews bill and presents it to the rest of the sub committee Speakers for and against the bill enter and give advice People of the committee debate the topic and vote to either kill or pass the bill If passed, goes to the main committee

Committee Chairmen presents the bill or can delay the bill Minutes are presented if bill was in a sub-committee Speakers enter for advice More debate on the bill and a vote for or against the bill If passed, moves to the House floor

House Floor Speaker can present the bill or delay Findings of the committee are presented More debate can occur As previous, changes can be placed on the bill Role is called--voting on bill If passed, moves to the Senate

Senate Leader’s propose the bill sent by the House to a committee Will be placed in an order received from the House Usually, majority controlled bills will be considered first

Sub-committee Chairmen reviews bill and presents it to the rest of the sub committee Speakers for and against the bill enter and give advice People of the committee debate the topic and vote to either kill or pass the bill If passed, goes to the main committee

Committee Chairmen presents the bill or can delay the bill Minutes are presented if bill was in a sub-committee Speakers enter for advice More debate on the bill and a vote for or against the bill If passed, moves to the Senate floor

Senate Floor Speaker can present the bill or delay Findings of the committee are presented More debate can occur As previous, changes can be placed on the bill Role is called--voting on bill If passed with no changes from the House, moves to the President

What’s the difference? House contains 435 people Senate contains 100 people House has fewer repeating people on committees Senate has many multiple members on committees There are over 130 committees in the House

What’s the difference? The Senate has over 70 committees The Senate and House could have different majority parties Which will mean what? Why?

The President Reviews finalized bill Can sign bill into law Can veto a bill Which does what? If vetoed, where does it go?

A vetoed bill Goes to House for another vote Also goes to the Senate for a vote Must be passed by at least 2/3 in both houses to override a veto, or it dies Some changes could take place to accommodate the President for signature If that happens, must go through cycle again.

Special Committees Is developed when a bill passes through House and Senate but have changes to the bill and both houses can not agree on a common ground for the bill Each house sends the same amount of Dems & Repubs to a room. So they try to find a common ground on the bill and make the necessary changes

Special Committees Bill is the sent to both house for consideration The group will present the bill and more debates will occur A role is taken If it passes both houses, move to the President, if not passed, dies

Supreme Court The Supreme Court can over rule any bill They must gives reasons but it must show that the bill is a violation of the Constitution What part of the Constitution grants this power? Why is it necessary?

Review The bill can originate from any source, but must be presented by a member of Congress Bill must pass both houses before a Presidential signature President can pass or veto a bill Checks and balances