Originally published in the 51 Corridor Community Newspaper on May 22, 2008

            Laws control our behavior in almost every aspect of life. Where do they come from? Who decides what laws we’ll have, and what they’ll say? Legislatures pass the laws – local councils, state legislatures, and the US Congress. The following describes the federal legislative process. State and local legislatures may have different procedures, but they’re all very similar.

Drafting

The process begins with a bill – the draft version of a law before it passes. Legislators’ staff members, or even a lobbyist, community activist, or interested citizen, writes the first draft of a bill. Legislators themselves rarely write the actual bills. They don’t have time, and the others usually have more expertise in the subject matter. A bill may go through several drafts before a legislator agrees to introduce it.

Introduction

Next, a legislator presents the bill to the House or Senate clerk. That legislator is the bill’s sponsor. The clerk assigns a number to the bill, for example HR (House of Representatives) 101, or S (Senate) 222. Any member of the chamber (House or Senate) may co-sponsor any bill. The president cannot introduce a bill to Congress. He/she must ask a member of Congress to do it.

Committee Assignment

Then, the clerk assigns the bill to the appropriate committee. Sometimes several committees may have authority over a single bill. This is where most of the work happens. There are 20 House committees, 21 Senate committees, four joint committees, and several “Select” Committees. The committee chairs are all from the political party holding the majority in that chamber. At present, the Democrats hold the majority in the House of Representatives. The committee chair may assign the bill to a subcommittee. The committee may hold hearings to get comments and testimony from experts and interested parties on the subject. Members of the House/Senate may offer amendments to the bill now, or at any future point.

Markup

If the committee is satisfied with the bill, it may markup the bill for consideration by all members on the House/Senate floor. If they table the bill, it dies. After markup, the Speaker of the House or President Pro Tem (PPT) of the Senate decides whether to schedule a vote by all members. This is why the people in these positions are so powerful. If they refuse to markup or to schedule a vote, the bill dies. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, is the Speaker of the House. Sen. Robert Byrd, D-WV, is the President Pro Tem.

Floor Vote

If a vote is scheduled, the Speaker/PPT allows time for debate. Members often offer amendments at this point. After debate, the members vote on the bill. If the bill passes, it moves on to the other chamber. If not, it dies. A House bill goes to the Senate, and a Senate bill goes to the House. A bill needs a majority of vote to pass. That’s 218 votes in the House and 51 in the Senate.

Send to Other Chamber

The bill goes to committee when it arrives in the new chamber. Then the process starts again. The second chamber may vote on the bill or table (kill) it. They may also amend it. If the second chamber passes the bill, it goes to the President.

Conference Committee

Similar bills are often introduced to both chambers at the same time. For example, education bills may make their ways through the House and Senate Education Committees, pass floor votes, and each bill goes to the other chamber. When this happens, Congressional leaders appoint a Conference Committee. The committee reviews both bills and recommends changes to work out the differences. The differences usually involve money. Once the committee is satisfied, the bill goes back for a final vote by each chamber. If both chambers pass the conference committee version of the bill, it goes to the president.

Sign or Veto

The president may accept (sign) the bill or reject (veto) it. If he/she signs the bill, it becomes a law. If he/she vetoes the bill, Congress may try to pass it again. Then it needs a 2/3 majority of each chamber to override the veto. That’s 290 House and 67 Senate votes. If Congress overrides the veto, it becomes a law whether the president likes it or not. President Bush often adds “signing statements” to bills when he signs them. In these statements, the president claims that he doesn’t have to follow the law if he doesn’t want to. There is no provision in the Constitution for signing statements and they are illegal.

Regulations

Laws are usually very general statements of what Congress wants. Once the bill becomes a law, it is the executive branch (president’s) responsibility to make it work. The appropriate government agency – Department of Education, Agriculture, or whatever – writes regulations to control exactly what will happen under the law. The agency publishes proposed regulations in the Federal Register and the public may comment on them for a period of time. After that, the agency decides whether to adjust the regulations according to the comments it received.

            This is a very brief description of the process. The founding fathers didn’t want this to be easy. Legislators’ priorities, personalities, and politics all play roles in real life. Sometimes this is better than a soap opera. For the really juicy stuff, watch C-Span. If you want to follow a particular bill, go to the website for the appropriate legislative chamber – www.house.gov, or www.senate.gov for Congress or www.legis.state.pa.us for the PA General Assembly. For local bills, call your local council.

For more information on the process, and for links to legislatures, go to www.usa.gov

Pat O’Malley is a consultant to nonprofit agencies. 

Please send comments and questions to communitymatters@patomalley-consulting.com.