How a bill becomes a law
In every nation, laws are very important in running various departments. A law regulates and govern individuals, organizations, as well as the state. Arguably, before a bill becomes a law, it follows various fundamental processes. Certainly, the process of bill making starts with the introduction of a bill, which can only be done by congress members. State legislatures have the mandate to forward bills to a member for introduction. Upon introduction, the Senate President or the House Speaker refers the bill to the relevant congressional committee for review. Thereafter, the committee further forwards the bills to subcommittees for further deliberation and public hearings. At this stage, individuals with interest on the bill are allowed to give their testimonials in writing or in person (Lee, 2004). The committee can subsequently amend it, recommend, or approve it or reject it basing their decisions on what emanates from the review. Approved bills move on in the legislative process. Every bill must follow the constituted processes before becoming a law.
The U.S. Constitution states that bills are read three times. First reading informs as well as alerts members on the consideration of the bill. The second reading allows members to deliberate and vote on amendment(s) by the committee as well as individual legislators. In the third reading, the bill is voted for, and in case it passes, it is organised and published using blue papers (James, 2011). Published bills contain transcripts from public hearings, and committee opinions for and against the bill. Thereafter, the bill is referred to the full senate. In case of any objection, every senator is given some minutes to reflect on the bill. Amendments can also be carried out at this time. However, the amendments are voted upon before the bill is put forward for voting. After leaving the House and the Senate, the bill is checked for any differences in the two versions (Edward, 2009). Noted differences call for reconciliation, hence, the house where the bill culminated from is given a copy of the differing bill. If it notes significant changes, a conference comprising of various Senators, as well as Representatives, is converged to iron out the differences. Thereafter, they write a report to their respective Houses, stating their mutual agreements on the bill, whereby the bill is re-voted for in the two Houses. If they disagree, the bill is referred to the House committees, and it may fail if the differences cannot be bridged. Bills agreed upon are forwarded to the president for approval and signing.
Bills passing through the congress are always under close tracking by the president or his/her staff. Before submission for presidential signature, the bills must first be signed by Senate President and House speaker. Upon presentation, the president is given ten days to sign the bill. Failure by the president to sign the bill after ten days makes the bill a law automatically. The president can down play a bill if he does not sign it, and the Congress adjourns before the expiry of the ten-day period. If this happens, a message containing Presidential objection on the bill is sent to the congress (Stephen, 2001). The two houses of Congress can revote for the bill and pass it without presidential signatory by two-thirds majority votes. Passage of a bill in any of the mentioned ways makes it a law and takes effect immediately.
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Stephen, J. (2001). American government: competition and compromise. Atlanta: Desktop
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