How a Bill Becomes a Law

There are three branches of government: the Executive Branch (the governor's office), the Legislative Branch (the Legislature) and the Judicial Branch (the courts.) The Executive Branch enforces the laws, the Legislative Branch enacts the laws, and the Judicial Branch interprets the laws.

The Legislature is made of two houses: the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House of Representatives has 75 members who are elected for two-year terms. The Senate has 29 members, who are elected to four-year terms. The Legislature is made of part-time legislators, who convene for 45 days each year beginning the third Monday of January.

For a bill to become law, it must first be drafted in the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel, where it is numbered and given a fiscal note, which indicates the bill's cost. It is then introduced in the Rules Committee and then is reviewed by the appropriate Standing Committee.

Standing committees meet only during the legislative session. For example, the Senate currently runs ten standing committees. They include: Senate Business and Labor Committee, Senate Education Committee, Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee, Senate Health and Human Services Committee, Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee, Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Committee, Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee, Senate Transportation and Public Utilities and Technology Committee, Senate Retirement and Independent Entitites Committee, and the Senate Workforce Services and Community and Economic Development Committee.

Senators also sit on appropriations committees, which review and approve funding for the state government, and on interim committees, which study issues when the Legislature is not in session.

When the bill is returned to the floor, it is debated in open session and given a vote. To pass the Senate, the bill must receive 15 votes and must receive 38 votes in the House of Representatives.

The bill must then go through the same process in the other house of the Legislature. If it passes both houses, the Governor can either sign the bill or veto the bill.

Unless another date is listed, the bill becomes enacted 60 days after legislative adjournment.