|
One of the things I am most excited about for this coming session is helping people understand more accurately how the government works, why it matters, and what they can do about it! With that in mind, I wanted to continue by explaining the basics of how a bill becomes a law. Hopefully, this will help you understand a bit more about how things happen at the Capitol.
What is a bill? It is a written proposal for a law. Bills originate from both the House and Senate, but this explanation will follow the path of a bill that starts in the House.
1) Concept. The first step is an idea. Ideas for legislation come from many sources, either from individual legislators, legislative committees, businesses, interest groups, or from constituents themselves! There are many examples of “regular people” presenting ideas for bills to their legislators and then seeing them advance all the way through to becoming a law.
Drafting. After the idea or concept has been solidified, the bill must be written! This is done by the LSA (Legislative Services Agency) in Des Moines. They look through the current Iowa Law and Codes to see if there is anything that would conflict with the proposed law and ensure that it is in the proper legal format for legislature use.
Returned to Sponsor. After the bill is drafted, the official draft is returned to the legislator who requested the draft, called the “Sponsor” of the bill. The Sponsor reviews the bill and requests any changes necessary. After any changes are made, the bill is reviewed by the House Legal Counsel for accuracy of format. Then, it is filed with the Chief Clerk’s Office and is assigned a bill number.
First Read. Soon after approval by the Sponsor and Legal Counsel, the bill’s title, number, and sponsor are read before the House during a session.
Assigned to Committee. When the bill is read, the Speaker assigns it to a standing committee. (More on committees in the following section!)
Assigned to Subcommittee. After the bill is read in the committee meeting, the committee chairperson assigns a subcommittee to review the bill in detail and report their findings to the standing committee. A subcommittee is typically made up of three members (a subcommittee chair from the Majority Party, and then a member of the Majority Party and a member of the Minority Party). Subcommittee meetings are open to the public to attend. Many lobbyists and citizens attend these meetings!
Full Committee Discussion. Based on the subcommittee’s findings, the full committee discusses the bill and makes a recommendation to the entire House of what action should be taken on the bill (recommend to pass, fail, refer to another committee, or no recommendation). Committee meetings are open to the public as well and can be watched via live stream on legis.iowa.gov.
Calendar. The bill now is returned to the Chief Clerk’s office and is placed on the “Debate Calendar,” which is a list of bills that are eligible to be debated. The Speaker then decides which bills will be brought up to debate on the House floor, and when that will happen.
Debate. Once the committee’s work is complete, the bill will be presented to the entire House by the “floor manager” (typically the chairperson of the committee). The bill is then discussed by the entire chamber and sometimes amendments (changes added to the bill) are proposed.
Vote. All one hundred members of the House vote on the bill. If there is a constitutional majority (at least 51 votes), the bill passes and moves to the Senate for their consideration.
Senate Process. Once a bill reaches the Senate, it will repeat the same process there until it gets to the vote. If any amendments are added in the Senate, the bill has to go back to the House for approval of the changes.
Final Action. If a bill passes the vote in both the House and Senate, it will be sent to the Governor. She then has three options: 1) Sign the bill 2) Veto the bill, or 3) take no action. If the bill is signed, it becomes a law! If it is vetoed, the legislature has a chance to override the veto as long as there is a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate voting to reconsider and pass the bill a second time. If the Governor takes no action, during the legislative session, the bill becomes law in three calendar days.
Iowa Law. Once a bill is signed, it typically becomes law on the following July 1st, unless there is a different start date specified in the bill.
To read a more detailed explanation of the bill-to-law process in Iowa, visit this link from the Non-Partisan Legislative Services Agency.
| 
