Government Affairs Basics: The Legislative Process

When legislators introduce bills or resolutions, it is typically given a number -- beginning with H.R. for a House bill and S. for a Senate bill -- and referred to a committee for consideration.

Types of Legislation

There are four basic categories of legislation:

• Bill: Legislation introduced in either the House or Senate. There are two different types of bills for expenditure of public funds:
• Authorization bill is legislation that establishes a program and sets funding limits.
• Appropriations bill is legislation that provides funds for authorized programs.
• Joint resolution: Legislation similar to a bill that has the force of law if passed by both houses and signed by the President; generally used for special circumstances.
• Concurrent resolution: Legislative action used to express the position of the House or Senate. It does not have the force of law.
• Resolution: A measure passed only in one house to express the sentiment of that chamber. A simple resolution does not have the force of law.
• Act: Legislation that passed both houses of Congress and becomes law.

Step 1. Referral to Committee:

With few exceptions, bills are referred to standing committees in the House or Senate according to carefully delineated rules of procedure.

Step 2. Committee Action:

When a bill reaches a committee it is placed on the committee calendar. A bill can be referred to a subcommittee or considered by the committee as a whole. At this point, a bill is examined carefully and its chances for passage are determined. If the committee does not act on a bill, it has almost no chance of passage.

Step 3. Subcommittee Review:

Often, bills are referred to a subcommittee for study and hearings. Hearings provide the opportunity to put the views of the executive branch, experts, other public officials, as well as supporters and opponents of the legislation on the record. Testimony can be given in person or submitted as a written statement.

Step 4. Mark-Up:

When the hearings are completed, the subcommittee may meet to make changes to the bill before recommending it to the full committee, a process known as "mark up." If a subcommittee votes not to report legislation to the full committee, the bill dies.

Step 5. Committee Action to Report A Bill:

After receiving a subcommittee's report on a bill, the full committee can conduct further study and hearings, or it can vote on the subcommittee’s recommendations and any proposed amendments. The full committee the votes on its recommendation to the House or Senate. This procedure is called "ordering a bill reported."

Step 6. Publication of a Written Report:

After a committee votes to have a bill reported, the committee chairman instructs staff to prepare a written report on the bill. This report describes the intent and scope of the legislation, its impact on existing laws and programs, the position of the executive branch, and views of dissenting members of the committee.

Step 7. Scheduling Floor Action:

After a bill is reported back to the chamber where it originated, it is place in chronological order on the calendar. In the House, there are several different legislative calendars, and the Speaker and majority leader largely determine if, when, and in what order bills come up. In the Senate there is only one legislative calendar.

Step 8. Debate:

When a bill reaches the floor of the House or Senate, there are rules or procedures governing the debate on legislation. These rules determine the conditions and amount of time allocated for general debate.

Step 9. Voting:

After the debate and the approval of any amendments, the bill is passed or defeated by the full body.

Step 10. Referral to Other Chamber:

When the House or the Senate passes a bill it is referred to the other chamber, where it usually follows the same route through committee and floor action. This chamber may approve the bill as received, reject it, ignore it, or change it.

Step 11. Conference Committee Action:

If only minor changes are made to a bill by the other chamber, it is common for the legislation to go back to the first chamber for concurrence. However, when the actions of the other chamber significantly alter the bill a conference committee is formed to reconcile the differences. If the conferees are unable to reach agreement, the legislation dies. If agreement is reached, a conference report is prepared describing the committee members' recommendations for changes. Both the House and the Senate must approve of the conference report.

Step 12. Final Actions:

After a bill has been approved by both the House and Senate in identical form, it is sent to the President. If the President approves of the legislation, he or she signs it and it becomes law. If the President takes no action for ten days while Congress is in session, it automatically becomes law. If the President opposes the bill, he or she can veto it. If the President takes no action after the Congress has adjourned its second session, the bill dies, a process known as a "pocket veto."

Step 13. Overriding a Veto:

If the President vetoes a bill, Congress may attempt to "override" the veto. This requires a two-thirds roll call vote of the members who are present in sufficient numbers for a quorum.