Legislation 101

The following steps describe how legislation is created and ultimately enacted.

Step 1: Referral to Committee

When a bill is introduced in either the House of Representatives or the Senate, it is assigned to a committee based on the content of the proposed legislation. Once in committee, the bills are assigned a number according to the chamber in which the bill was introduced (i.e. H.R. 1234 or S. 1234). The committee will most likely refer the bill to the appropriate subcommittee where the bill will be debated, revised, and, possibly, approved. In many cases, the committee will decide not to take action on the bill at all, in which case the bill is immediately off the agenda.

Step 2: Polishing the Bill

If the subcommittee approves the bill, it is sent back to the full committee whereupon members have the chance to make amendments or rewrite the content of the bill. The full committee then decides whether the bill will be approved and sent to the Senate or House floor, or whether it will "die" in committee. A bill approved by the committee can only go to either chamber's floor after a committee report, which details the bill's scope and impact, is completed and published.

Note: In the House of Representatives, a bill that is approved by the full committee for floor action must first pass through the Rules Committee, which sets both the schedule and the rules for debating and voting.

Step 3: Floor Debate and Voting

On each chamber's floor, the final version of the bill is distributed and members debate the content, propose amendments and, finally, take a roll call vote to approve or reject the bill. While House members have very few tactics at their disposal to delay action of the bill, Senators have a number of such tactics, including a "filibuster," where Senators extend debate in order to prevent a vote from taking place. In order to break a filibuster and move legislation towards final passage, 60 Senators must vote to end debate.

Step 4: Referral

If the bill is approved, it will then be sent to the alternate chamber for similar review. Here, the process repeats itself in the opposite chamber.

Note: Any bills involving taxes must originate in the House of Representatives.

Step 5: Conference Committee

If the bill is passed by both the House and the Senate, there will most likely be differences between the two versions. To reconcile the differences, the two versions of the bill are passed onto a Conference Committee, which is composed of members from each chamber that have been appointed by the Senate Majority Leader and the Speaker of the House. The Conference Committee has the power to make major changes to the bill. If a compromise is approved by the Conference Committee, the bill is returned to both chambers for a vote on this final version. When the House and Senate vote on the Conference Committee's version, no amendments are permitted.

Step 6: Presidential Approval

If both Chambers approve this final version by majority votes, the bill is sent to the President for signature. The President can either sign or veto the bill. If signed, the bill becomes a law. The President can also decide to take no action on the bill for 10 days while Congress is in session, whereupon the bill automatically becomes a law. If the President vetoes the bill, the House and the Senate can override that veto with a two-thirds majority vote in both chambers.

Step 7: Effective Dates

If the President signs the bill, its provisions may not become law immediately. Many bills establish the effective dates for laws or parts of laws to become operative, with some mandating that new rules not be enforced months or even years after a law's enactment.