1. …Admit it… You started to sing in your head didn’t you?
How a Bill Becomes a Law
…Admit it… You started to sing in your head didn’t you?

2. How a Bill Becomes a Law - House
Bill - a proposed law
Revenue Bills must originate in the House

3. Types
Public - measures that apply to the whole nation ie taxes
Private - measure that apply to certain people/places
Resolution - measure relating to the internal workings of Congress and concern only one house

4. Joint resolution - must be passed by both houses and approved by the President (ie: appropriate money)
Concurrent resolution - passes by both houses; used to express legislative opinion or internal rules; does not have the force of law
Rider - provision attached to another bill because it probably wouldn’t pass on its own

5. Referred to committee
Bill is placed in hopper
Clerk of House numbers/titles bill
Bill is entered into the House Journal and Congressional Record
This is the first reading
Bill is printed/distributed to members
Bill is referred by Speaker to appropriate committee

6. Committee stage
Very few bills pass this stage
Hold hearings in committee or subcommittee
May recommend it to floor
May amend it
May unfavorably recommend it
May make a new one
May pigeon-hole it - dies in committee though a discharge petition can force it to the floor

7. Calendar
After making it through committee, the bill is placed on a calendar
Union - for bills dealing with revenue, appropriations, government property
House - for all public bills
Private - for all private bills
Corrections - for bills taken out of order
Discharge - for petition to discharge bills from committee

8. House Rules Committee approves taking bill off calendar and sets up time for its appearance on the floor - bill can die here

9. Floor
Bill gets its second reading
General debate occurs - strict rules govern debate
Voted on
House may act as a Committee of the Whole to bypass part of the procedure and speed things up; this is used for important bills and requires a quorum (218 members)

10. Voting
Voice - aye or nay
Standing - stand up to be counted
Teller - walk down aisle and count (rarely used today because of electronic voting)
Roll call - call each individual for vote
Electronic - used today the most

11. Final steps
If approved at the second reading, bill is printed (engrossed)
Read for third time
Final vote

12. How A Bill Becomes A Law - Senate
Introduction by Senator
Given a number and title
Read twice
Referred to committee
Committee
Same as in House
Only one calendar
Bills called to floor by majority floor leaders

13. Debate
Unlimited
2 speech rule - Senator may only speak twice on same piece of legislation
Filibuster - attempt to talk a bill to death by monopolizing floor until Senate drops bill
Cloture rule – procedure limits a Senator’s speech to one hour
Hard to get
3/5 (60) must vote for it
Vote

14. How A Bill Becomes A Law - Final Stages
Conference committee
Irons out differences in the two versions of the bill
Bill submitted to both houses for approval
May not be amended at this stage
Goes to President

15. Presidential action
May sign
May veto
Pocket veto - may keep it for 10 days and do nothing
If Congress in session, automatically becomes law
If Congress adjourns, automatically vetoed
Line item veto - gives President power to reject/veto parts of bill without vetoing the whole bill
Clinton v. New York City 1998
Supreme Court ruled line item veto unconstitutional