Step by step how does a bill become a law

Rider - An informal term for an amendment or provision that is not relevant to the legislation where it is attached. Substitute Amendment - An amendment that would replace existing language of a bill or another amendment with its own.

Veto - A power that allows the President, a Governor or a Mayor to refuse approval of a piece of legislation. Federally, a President returns a vetoed bill to the Congress, generally with a message. This is a card processor fee. Please know that a recurring donation of the amount and frequency that you selected will be processed and initiated tomorrow. Continue to secure page ». Government For Teachers. Legislation is Introduced - Any member can introduce a piece of legislation House - Legislation is handed to the clerk of the House or placed in the hopper.

Steps in Committee: Comments about the bill's merit are requested by government agencies. Bill can be assigned to subcommittee by Chairman. Hearings may be held. Subcommittees report their findings to the full committee. Finally there is a vote by the full committee - the bill is "ordered to be reported.

If substantial amendments are made, the committee can order the introduction of a "clean bill" which will include the proposed amendments. This new bill will have a new number and will be sent to the floor while the old bill is discarded. The chamber must approve, change or reject all committee amendments before conducting a final passage vote.

In the House, most bills go to the Rules committee before reaching the floor. The committee adopts rules that will govern the procedures under which the bill will be considered by the House. A "closed rule" sets strict time limits on debate and forbids the introduction of amendments.

These rules can have a major impact on whether the bill passes. Debate House: Debate is limited by the rules formulated in the Rules Committee. If passed, it is then sent to the other chamber unless that chamber already has a similar measure under consideration. If either chamber does not pass the bill then it dies. If the House and Senate pass the same bill then it is sent to the President.

If the House and Senate pass different bills they are sent to Conference Committee. Most major legislation goes to a Conference Committee. Conference Committee Members from each house form a conference committee and meet to work out the differences. Once a bill is introduced, it can be found on Congress. As soon as a bill is introduced, it is referred to a committee.

Both the House and Senate have various committees composed of groups of Congress members who are particularly interested in different topics such as health or international affairs. When a bill is in the hands of the committee, it is carefully examined and its chances of passage by the entire Congress are determined.

The committee may even choose to hold hearings to better understand the implications of the bill. Hearings allow the views of the executive branch , experts, other public officials and supporters, and opponents of the legislation to be put on the record. If the committee does not act on a bill, the bill is considered to be " dead ".

Subcommittees are organized under committees and have further specialization on a certain topic. Often, committees refer bills to a subcommittee for study and their own hearings.

The subcommittee may make changes to the bill and must vote to refer a bill back to the full committee. When the hearings and subcommittee review are completed, the committee will meet to " mark up " the bill.

They make changes and amendments prior to recommending the bill to the " floor ". If a committee votes not to report legislation to the full chamber of Congress, the bill dies.

If the bill is voted upon and passed out of committee , it with any new amendments that were also voted upon , it goes back to the full chamber. The full chamber can again propose new amendments and vote on the bill.

If both the Senate and House of Representatives have voted to pass the bill, then they must work out any difference between the two versions. For example, if the second chamber passed the bill with any new amendments, then the first chamber must also pass those new amendments.

Both chambers must vote out the exact same bill. If it passes, it goes to the president federal level or governor state level. Finally, the president or governor then considers the bill. He or she can approve the bill and sign it into law, or veto the bill, stopping it from becoming a law.

Most Americans learn about the process by which our country passes laws in middle school when we study the Constitution. The separation of powers is clearly outlined; any bill must be voted upon by both chambers of the legislative branch and signed by the executive before it becomes the law of the land and is enforced by the judiciary.

While most of us have a general grasp on how this works, there are many steps in the process which remain opaque and are generally misunderstood by anyone except professors, Washington lobbyists, and the lawmakers themselves. Modern lawmaking involves an incredible amount of politics, fundraising, deal-making, and, above all, compromise in order for even the most agreed-upon bills to become law.

Traditionally, a congressman in the House of Representatives or a senator would be the one to write and propose a new law, but anyone with the time and know-how can draft a bill. Law constituents or activist groups might band together with lobbyists in order to draft a bill, and, sometimes, the president and his team will put forth a bill.

Once the potential legislation is drafted, it may be introduced by any member of the House of Representatives or the Senate.