1. Toolkit #4: Legislative Process

2. How A Bill Becomes A Law

3. In A Nutshell… Introduced by a “Sponsor”
Amended and passed in Committee
Passed in each chamber (e.g., House and Senate)
Signed into law by the Executive Branch (President or Governor)

5. State vs. Federal
The legislative process is basically the same whether it is a state government or the Federal Government
However, there are important differences. For more information, see Toolkit #6 (State vs. Federal Government)

6. What Is A Legislative Session?
There is a discrete period of time when bills can be introduced and passed
In Congress (Federal government), this is a two year period following elections. We are currently in the “114th Congress” (Jan 2015 to Jan 2017)
State government session vary state to state (visit to see your state
Everything starts over at the beginning of a new session

7. Introducing A Bill
All legislation (State or Federal) must be “Sponsored” or “Authored” by a legislator
In the federal government, a bill can be introduced any time when the legislature is in session
State governments often have “filing deadlines” when all new bills must be submitted
All bills are assigned a number/letter combination corresponding to when and where they were introduced (e.g., HR 50, SB 100, AB 2612)
Except in rare instances, all new bills are immediately sent to a committee of jurisdiction
The U.S. Congress and all states have websites where you can check the status of new legislation:

9. The Committee Process
Committees are where the rubber meets the road in the legislative process
Committees have jurisdiction over certain types of bills (e.g., health care, new taxes, road improvements)
Once a bill is referred to committee, this is when hearings are held and the bill is debated or amended
To move forward, a bill must be voted out of committee

11. Why Bills Fail Not enough public support or support from legislators
Opposition advocacy (including lobbying)
Not enough time: there are hundreds of bills before a committee at any given time. They can only get to so many of them before the session ends

12. The Legislative Floor
After a bill passes out of committee, it goes to ”the floor” for a vote among all the legislators in that chamber (e.g., the house or senate)
There is no requirement that a bill must be voted on
Legislative leadership has immense power over what bills get voted on
In Congress, more bills tend to get votes in the House than in the Senate. The Senate has weird rules that prevent quick action

14. Rinse and Repeat
In most cases, this entire process has to be repeated in the second legislative chamber
Only when both chambers (e.g., House and Senate) have passed the same version of a bill can it go to the Executive for signature
There are exceptions to this process

16. Enacting a Law
The Executive branch must sign bills for them to become law (i.e., President or Governor)
If the Executive vetoes a bill, the legislature can still make it a law with a 2/3 majority vote
Bills typically take effect in January of the following year, but there are lots of exceptions to this:
Emergencies
Laws that need more time (usually drastic changes)

18. Don’t worry! RareAction is here to help
Complicating Factors
There can be more than one committee of jurisdiction for a bill, which means more hearings and votes
In state government, there is often a committee looking exclusively at how much a proposed law will cost
Don’t worry! RareAction is here to help

19. Other Resources Toolkit #6 (State Government vs. Federal Government)
Toolkit #3 (How to Meet With Your Legislator)
RareAction Legislative Tracker
State Policy Report Card

20. www.rareaction.org www.rarediseases.org
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