How a Bill Becomes a State Law

In order to become a true state law, an idea or proposal must first be made into an act that is approved by the state legislature. These steps outline the process involved in how a bill becomes a law.

Step 1: An Idea Forms

An idea for a bill can come from everyone, whether they are citizens or legislators. Some bills are created based on past bills or court decisions. Once an idea is there, legal experts write it down formally and place the paper into a blue folder, or "blueback." The blueback is then sent to the Chief Clerk who gives the proposal a special number.

Step 2: Naming and Numbering

The Speaker of the House decides which committee will get to review the bill (committees specialize in different fields). The Speaker also announces which committee was given the bill. After the bill is given a "Printer's Number" it becomes an official bill. It is then filed along with other bills at the House.

Step 3: Under the Magnifying Glass

The bill is examined by a Standing Committee. The committee's job is similar to a traffic light: it can either give the bill a green light, meaning that after examining it carefully they believe it should continue on its way to being a law, or a red light, meaning that they believe the bill should not go any further and be thrown out. The committee also gathers information about the bill's topic for the House members. The committees can also come up with "amendments," or changes to different parts of the bill.

Step 4: The Caucuses

Before the bill goes to the House floor, it goes through a second round of reviews. Each political party has a chance to "caucus", or discuss in private, the proposed bill. A party will usually unite in favor or against an important bill.

Step 5: On to the House Floor

The bill that was considered in the caucus is now presented on the House floor. The Constitution says that the bill has to be "considered" for three days, to make sure that no legislative action is taken too quickly and that the public has time to react.

Day 1

The bill is announced and its number is read. The bill is then made inactive for a maximum of 15 legislative days. A legislative day is a day on which the House or Senate is in session; at times the legislators are away on other business. A bill can be made active again if a majority of the members agree to do so. No debates or votes take place.

Day 2

The House decides if there is enough information to talk about the bill. No debates or votes take place. If the bill involves state money, the bill is sent to a special committee that reports on the "price" of the bill. Amendments to the bill can be proposed on this day.

Day 3

The House finally debates the bill. Legislators give their opinion on the bill. At the end of the debate, a vote is finally taken, with all legislators required to vote. To pass, a bill has to get a "constitutional majority" of the votes. This means that it needs to receive more than a half of the votes of all legislators elected to the House or Senate.

Step 6: The Senate

Now that the House passed the bill, it continues to the Senate and goes through the same exact procedure as it did in the House. If the Senate comes up with amendments, the bill goes back to the House for an approval.

If the Senate approves the bill, too, then the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tempore (the Senator chosen to be the overlooking officer at the Senate) sign the bill.

Step 7: The Governor

The bill has to be reviewed by the Governor, the head of the executive branch. The Governor can sign a bill and make it into a law or let the bill pass itself into law without signing it. Another option is to "veto" the bill, or reject it. To pass the bill anyway, the House and Senate (together known as the "General Assembly") each have to get a 2/3 majority of the votes. If the Governor only wants to delete a certain part of the bill, he or she can use a "line veto" and cross out only a piece.

Step 8: A Law is Made

The bill now becomes an Act, meaning it is a law. It is given a new number and title and is open to the people to see.

Each piece of legislation must go through such a process; once the act is passed, it becomes the state law that we all are expected to follow.