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This tells how a bill becomes a law. Please note that A BILL CAN START IN EITHER THE HOUSE OR THE SENATE (unless it is related to money,) because it ends up going to both houses. In this example, we will show the legislative process (which is the process it takes for bills to become laws) as it starts from the House of Representatives.
How a bill becomes a law:
1) It is proposed by any congressman (senator or representative of the house.) Please note that there are 435 congressmen in the house of representatives and 100 in the senate. The senate have more power but the House has more direct connections to the civilians. Also note that a bill that is related to money, however, must start in the house.
2) Once the bill is proposed and written it is sent to the speaker of the house (who, currently, is Nancy Pelosi.) If she denies the bill, it is Bill Killed (a phrase which means that the bill ends there and thereafter has no chance of becoming a law.) If she accepts it however, it is sent to a committee of the house. (remember, it can be sent to a house committee or a senate committee, but in this example it will start from the house.)
3) The House committee discusses and amends (makes changes to) the bill. Amendments can include anything; for example, in a bill proposing that children must wear helmets, the committee could also add in that children must be with an adult in public areas. Every time a group discusses or amends, they ARE ALLOWED to make these changes.
4) The House committee votes. If they vote no, then it is Bill Killed. If they vote yes, it is sent from there to the full House of Representatives
5) Now the full House of Representatives has the bill. Together, they collaboratively discuss and amend the Bill. People are allowed to give reasons and arguments as to why they should make a certain change on the bill, why they should decline the Bill's acceptance, etc. This process is always open to the public.
6) The full House votes. If they vote no, it is Bill Killed. If they vote yes, then the Bill is sent to a Committee of the Senate.
7) Now, the Senate Committee has the Bill. (Of course, this is only if the House of Reps. started with the Bill. If the Senate had started the Bill, then at this step the Bill would be in the hands of the House of Reps. Committee.) in many cases, (depending on the circumstances,) the Senate Committee IS NOT given the copy that has been discussed and amended by the House of Representatives, but instead review the original copy. The Senate Committee discusses and amends the Bill,and after evidence and information is collected, the voting process begins.
8) The Senate Committee votes on the Bill. If they vote no, it is Bill Killed. If they vote yes, then the Bill goes to the Full Senate.
9) Now the Full Senate has the Bill. They discuss and amend it.
10) They vote. If it's a no, then it's Bill Killed. If it is a yes, then it goes to the CONFERENCE Committee.
11) Let's quickly review what just happened: It went to these places in order: Speaker of the house, House of Reps. Committee, House of Reps, Senate Committee, and the Senate. You may have noticed that before each group or house, it goes to the Committee of the group of house. Remember, the committee is smaller. In other word, There are 200 senators, but a Bill will be sent to, let's say, 20 of those 100. These 20 make up a committee. Which committee the Bill is sent to depends on the interests of the Bill. Like we learned before, before each major house or group, the Bill is sent to a smaller committee of the group or house. Now, before going to the full congress (which has 536 members; 436 house members and 100 senators) it goes to a Congress committee, called the Conference Committee, made up of a few members from BOTH the senate AND the house. The Conference Committee discusses and amends the Bill. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART FOR THE BILL! THIS IS WHERE THE FINAL DRAFT IS WRITTEN! Here, the Conference committee takes BOTH the copy/version of the Bill that came out of the Senate AND the one that came out of the House and MERGES THEM TOGETHER, and they try to work out the differences. It is a great compromise--a compromise between the House and the Senate and their view on the Bill. HOWEVER, CONFERENCE COMMITTEE MEMBERS ARE OFTEN SNEAKY! In the process of merging the two versions, any member of the committee can add-in ANYTHING they like. For example, if the Bill was about a proposed policy about helmet-wearing for children, they could, technically add in something random, such as it is also illegal to wear red. After they are done discussing the Bill, the New and Final copy of the Bill is sent to the ENTIRE CONGRESS (both the senate and the House of Representatives.)
12) Now the full Congress votes. They do not discuss or amend, as once the Bill leaves the Conference Committee, it CANNOT be changed. If they vote no, then it is Bill Killed. (What a shame, it had come so far in the legislative process!) However, if they vote yes, then the Bill is sent to the President of the United States of America.
13) The President review the Bill. He cannot change it. Hopefully, he will read through it carefully and think deeply about it. He has a big decision to make
14) If he signs the Bill, then the Bill is a law, however, we are supposing, for educational purposes, that he doesn't sign the Bill, and he DOESN'T agree to it. This is called a VETO. If the President vetoes the Bill, though, it still has a chance; it is not yet Bill Killed!
15) Now the Bill returns to the Full Congress. To win a vote, usually, there has to be more than 50% of the Congressmen in favor of the Bill. In this case, since the Bill was vetoed, 2/3 of the Congress have to approve it. This is harder than it sounds. If 66% of the Congress does not approve the Bill, then it is Bill Killed...But Wait!...If 2/3 of the Congress approve the Bill...
16) THEN THE BILL BECOMES A LAW!
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
Wiki User
∙ 9y agoYes, most bills do die in the committee. In fact, only approximately 4 percent of all bills actually become laws. This occurs because most bills do not have a co-sponsor that supports the bill. If there is a co-sponsor that is willing to point out how it will benefit the people there is a chance that the bill will be passed into law.
Wiki User
∙ 12y agoLeah Munoz-Reynoso
A speaker or majority leader who refuses to refer it to committee
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At what stage do most bills die at in the legislative process?
Most bills die in the "committee" portion of the legislative process.
Where do most bills die in congress?
In committee
What happen to most bills that do not become laws?
They die in committee
What happens to a bill that are pigeonholed?
Most bills die in committee.
What happens to most bills committee?
They are killed.
Where do most measures introduced in the house die?
Most measures introduced in the House die once in committee. The bill is initially introduced by a member of legislature.
What happens to most bills in committee?
A bill cannot become a law until it is passed by the legislature, and most of the time approved by the executive. However, most of the bills introduced in state legislatures are stopped early in the process.
What committee sets the time limit for debating a bill?
The rules committee sets a time limit for debating a bill. They do most things involving bills.
What is the small group in congress formed to consider bills?
Committee.
Who decides what bills gets introduced?
rules committee
What is the committee in the House of Representatives that considers all new tax bills?
The committee in the House of Representatives that considers all new tax bills is the Ways and Means Committee. Being on that committee is considered a pathway to power.
The most common place for a bill to die is?
in committee
