How Bill Becomes a Law, Essay Example

A bill starts as an idea which could be generated by anyone including a citizen, a group, or even the legislator. The legislator, either a senator or member of the general assembly, gets the idea translated into a bill and becomes its sponsor. Other legislators could join him/her as co-sponsor if they like the idea. A bill is either introduced in the General Assembly or the Senate, depending upon the membership of the legislator. The bill is then taken up by a relevant committee that has the jurisdiction over the matter addressed by the bill. The committee studies the bill and seeks testimonies from experts and relevant figures. The committee then takes one of the three possible actions: releases the bill with a recommendation to pass it, revises the bill and release it, or rejects the bill ( Office of the Clerk, U.S. Capitol n.d.).

If the bill is released, it goes to the general assembly or the senate for voting. If one house passes the bill, it then goes to the second house and the whole process is repeated such as analysis and hearings by the committee and final voting. If the bill clears second house as well, it goes to the President for approval. If the President signs the bill or do nothing for a certain number of days, it becomes the law. If the President vetoes the bill, it goes back to the legislature and the legislature can override the veto with two-third majority (National Human Genome Research Institute n.d.) though it’s usually a very difficult task.

References

Office of the Clerk, U.S. Capitol. How a Bill Becomes a Law. http://kids.clerk.house.gov/grade-school/lesson.html?intID=17 (accessed March 27, 2012).

National Human Genome Research Institute. How a Bill Becomes Law. http://www.genome.gov/12513982 (accessed March 27, 2012).