Bill (law)

A bill is proposed legislation under consideration by a legislature.[1] A bill does not become law until it is passed by the legislature and, in most cases, approved by the executive. Once a bill has been enacted into law, it is called an act of the legislature, or a statute. Bills are introduced in the legislature and are discussed, debated and voted upon.

A graphic representation of the legislative procedure in the Parliament of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth Countries. (The names of Legislative Chambers vary throughout the Commonwealth.) In the circumstances of republics, Royal Assent is substituted with Presidential Assent.

Usage

The term bill is primarily used in Anglophone nations. In the United Kingdom, the parts of a bill are known as clauses, until it has become an act of parliament, from which time the parts of the law are known as sections.[2]

In Napoleonic law nations (including France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain and Portugal), a proposed law may be known as a "law project" (Fr. projet de loi), which is a government-introduced bill, or a "law proposition" (Fr. proposition de loi), a private member's bill. For example the Dutch parliamentary system does not make this terminological distinction (wetsontwerp and wetsvoorstel being used interchangeably).

Preparation

The preparation of a bill may involve the production of a draft bill prior to the introduction of the bill into the legislature.[3] In the United Kingdom, draft bills are frequently considered to be confidential.[4] Pre-legislative scrutiny is a formal process carried out by a parliamentary committee on a draft bill.[5]

In Parliament of India, the draft bill is sent to individual ministry relating to the matter. From there the bill goes to Ministry of Law and Justice (India) and then is passed on to Cabinet committee which is headed by Prime Minister.

is required in much of Scandinavia, occurs in Ireland at the discretion of the Oireachtas (parliament) and occurs in the UK at the government's discretion.[6]

In the Parliament of Ireland under Poynings' Law (1494–1782) legislation had to be pre-approved by the Privy Council of Ireland and Privy Council of England, so in practice each bill was substantively debated as "heads of a bill", then submitted to the privy councils for approval, and finally formally introduced as a bill and rejected or passed unamended.[7]

Introduction

In the Westminster system, where the executive is drawn from the legislature and usually holds a majority in the lower house, most bills are introduced by the executive (government bill). In principle, the legislature meets to consider the demands of the executive, as set out in the Queen's Speech or Speech from the Throne.

While mechanisms exist to allow other members of the legislature to introduce bills, these are subject to strict timetables and usually fail unless a consensus is reached. In the US system, where the executive is formally separated from the legislature, all bills must originate from the legislature. Bills can be introduced using the following procedures:

  • Leave: A motion is brought before the chamber asking that leave be given to bring in a bill. This is used in the British system in the form of the Ten Minute Rule motion. The legislator has 10 minutes to propose a bill, which can then be considered by the House on a day appointed for the purpose. While this rule remains in place in the rules of procedure of the US Congress, it is seldom used.
  • Government motion: In jurisdictions where the executive can control legislative business a bill may be brought in by executive fiat.

Legislative stages
Main article: Reading (legislature)

Bills are generally considered through a number of readings. This refers to the historic practice of the clerical officers of the legislature reading the contents of a bill to the legislature. While the bill is no longer read, the motions on the bill still refer to this practice.

In the British/Westminster system, for a new law to be made it starts off as a bill and has to go through the 7 stages of the legislative process. These are: First Reading, Second reading, Committee stage, Report Stage, Third Reading, Opposite House, and then Royal Assent. A bill is introduced usually by a Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons or by a member of the House Of Lords.

There will be a first reading of the bill, in which the proposition in the bill is read out, but there is minimal discussion and no voting.

After this there is a second reading of the bill, in which the bill is presented in more detail and it is discussed between the MPs or Lords.

The third stage is the committee stage, in which a committee is gathered. This may include MPs, Lords, professionals and experts in the field, and other people who the bill may affect. The purpose of this stage is to go into more detail on the bill and gather expert opinions on it (e.g. teachers may be present in a committee about a bill that would affect the education system) and amendments may be brought.

After this is the report stage, in which the entire house reviews any and all changes made to the bill since its conception and may bring further amendments.

The fifth stage is the third reading of the bill, in which the full bill is read out in the house along with all amendments and is given final approval by the House.

The next stage is where the bill is handed over to the opposite house for approval. (If it started in the House of Commons it will be handed to the House of Lords and vice versa.) Here the bill will go through the exact same process as before, with amendments able to be brought. If amendments are brought the bill will again be handed to the opposite house, going through the same process, which repeats until both houses arrive at an agreement on the bill. (In the rare circumstance that the two houses cannot agree, the House of Commons has the final say as it is an elected body, whereas the House Of Lords is not).

Once the bill is finalized, it will move to the final stage, Royal Assent. In this the piece of legislation is given to the Monarch (currently Queen Elizabeth II) to give her royal assent for the bill to become law. Though the monarch does have the right to refuse to do so, the monarch is only able to see the short title of bill, for example, they would only be able to see "Offensive Weapons Act 2019". Once the assent is granted the law comes into effect at the date and time specified within the act, if this is not specified within the act, it will come into effect at midnight on the same day it was granted royal assent.

In India, for a law to be made it starts off as a bill and has to go through various stages.

There will be "first reading" of the bill where minister takes leave from the house and introduces title and objectives of the bill. Here, no discussion or voting takes place. And then the bill is published in Gazette of India.

After this there is a "second reading" of the bill, where the bill receives its final shape.

1) The bill first go through the 'stage of general discussion' where the bill is referred to select committee/ joint committee for detailed scrutiny through a motion.

2) Under 'committee stage' the bill is scrutinized in detail in the committee and a report is submitted in the respective house.

3) Under 'consideration stage' the bill is discussed in detail in the house and is voted upon.

Then under "third reading" the bill is voted upon as a whole and if majority of the house present and voting favours the bill, then the bill is considered passed and is authenticated by presiding officer.

Now, the bill is passed to the other house for its consideration.

And if both houses agree, finally bill reaches the President where he can assent, withhold assent, return for consideration and can also sit on the bill.


Enactment and after

"How a bill becomes a law" redirects here. For the Parks and Recreation episode, see How a Bill Becomes a Law.

Where a piece of primary legislation is termed an act, the process of a bill becoming law may be termed enactment. Once a bill is passed by the legislature, it may automatically become law, or it may need further approval, in which case enactment may be effected by the approver's signature or proclamation.

Approval

Bills passed by the legislature usually require the approval of the executive such as the monarch, president, or governor to become law.[8] Exceptions are the Irish Free State from the abolition of the Governor-General in December 1936 to the creation of the office of President in December 1937, and Israel from its formation until today, during which period bills approved by the Oireachtas and Knesset respectively became/become law immediately (though, in Israel's case, the laws are ceremonially signed after their passage by the President).

In parliamentary systems, approval of the executive is normally a formality since the head of state is directed by an executive controlled by the legislature. In constitutional monarchies, this approval is called royal assent. In rare cases, approval may be refused or "reserved" by the head of state's use of a reserve power. The legislature may have significantly less power to introduce bills on such issues and may require the approval beforehand. In Commonwealth realms the royal prerogative informs this. In the United Kingdom, for example, cases include payments to the royal family, succession to the throne, and the monarch's exercise of prerogative powers.

In presidential systems, the need to receive approval can be used as a political tool by the executive, and its refusal is known as a veto. The legislature may be able to override the veto by means of a supermajority vote.

In some jurisdictions, a bill passed by the legislature may also require approval by a constitutional court. If the court finds the bill would violate the constitution it may annul it or send it back to the legislature for correction. In Ireland, the President has discretion under Article 26 of the Constitution to refer bills to the Supreme Court. In Germany, the Federal Constitutional Court has discretion to rule on bills.

Some bills may require approval by referendum. In Ireland this is obligatory for bills to amend the constitution; it is possible for other bills via a process that has never been used.

Afterwards

A bill may come into force as soon as it becomes law, or it may specify a later date to come into force, or it may specify by whom and how it may be brought into force; for example, by ministerial order. Different parts of an act may come into force at different times.

An act is typically promulgated by being published in an official gazette. This may be required on enactment, coming into force, or both.

Numbering of bills

Legislatures give bills numbers as they progress.

In the United States, all bills originating in the House of Representatives begin with "H.R." and all bills originating from the Senate begin with an "S.". Every two years, at the start of odd-numbered years, the United States Congress recommences numbering from 1, though for bills the House has an order reserving the first 20 bill numbers and the Senate has similar measures for the first 10 bills. Joint resolutions also have the same effect as bills, and are titled as "H. J. Res." or "S. J. Res." depending on whether they originated in the House or Senate, respectively. This means that two different bills can have the same number. Each two-year span is called a congress, tracking the terms of Representatives elected in the nationwide biennial House of Representatives elections, and each congress is divided into year-long periods called sessions.[9]

In the United Kingdom, for example, the Coroners and Justice Act in 2009 started as Bill 9 in the House of Commons. Then it became Bill 72 on consideration by the Committee, after that it became House of Lords Bill 33. Then it became House of Lords Bill 77, returned to the House of Commons as Bill 160 before finally being passed as Act no. 29.[10][11] Parliament recommences numbering from one at the beginning of each session. This means that two different bills may have the same number. Sessions of parliament usually last a year. They begin with the State Opening of Parliament, and end with Prorogation.

In the Irish Oireachtas, bills are numbered sequentially from the start of each calendar year. Bills originating in the Dáil and Seanad share a common sequence. There are separate sequences for public and private bills, the latter prefixed with "P". Although acts to amend the constitution are outside the annual sequence used for other public acts, bills to amend the constitution are within the annual sequence of public bills.[12]

See also

References
  1. - Education 2020: Government course; topic House of Representatives (USA), definition of bill: "A proposed law presented to a legislative body for consideration."
  2. "Clauses - Glossary page". UK Parliament. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  3. Hilaire Barnett. Constitutional and Administrative Law. Second Edition. Cavendish. 1998. Page 537.
  4. Bradley and Ewing. Constitutional and Administrative Law. Twelfth Edition. Longman. 1997. Page 718.
  5. "Glossary page — Pre-legislative scrutiny". UK Parliament. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  6. "Pre-legislative scrutiny (PLS) by parliament" (PDF). Spotlight. Oireachtas.
  7. Kelly, James (2006). "The making of law in eighteenth-century Ireland : the significance and import of Poynings' law". In Dawson, Norma (ed.). Reflections on Law and History: Irish Legal History Society Discourses and Other Papers, 2000–2005. Irish Legal History Society. 17. Four Courts Press. pp. 259–277. ISBN 9781851829378.
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 12 March 2009. Retrieved 17 May 2009.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. "GovTrack: Search Legislation in Congress". GovTrack.us. Retrieved 30 March 2009.
  10. "Coroners and Justice Bill 2008–09". Archived from the original on 13 February 2010.
  11. "Coroners and Justice Act 2009" (PDF). Office of Public Sector Information. 12 November 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 March 2010. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
  12. For example, the list of Oireachtas bills for 2002 includes numbers 31 and 32 (constitutional amendments) 45 and 47 (originating in Seanad) 46 (originating in Dáil) and P1 (private).

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