General: Legislation

Question 1

Legislative Process

Laws made by legislative bodies
Laws called Statutory law
vs. Case law /common law that comes from court decisions

Question 2

US is a federal republic

Legislative process is dual sovereignty
Parallel state and federal legal systems

Question 3

Legislative Process

Completed by the Federal level by Congress
State level by state legislatures

Question 4

Legislation….First Reading

• Starts with there ought to be a law idea
  
  • Responsive — something happened or something certain that never happens again)
  • Proactive
    
    • Case law is responsive vs. statutory law
• Representative authors a bill
  
  • Bill is filed in the chamber to which the legislator was elected
  • Bill moves to the order of 1st reading == introduced and matter of public recod
  • Available on websites so people can seethe and track them

Question 5

Second Reading

• Committee hears the bill (2nd)
  
  • Committee is subset of members with both parties in it
  • Public can speak to the legislature about a bill
  • Members of the committee to question people about the bill
  • After testimony’s are heard bills are sometimes amended
  • This may be iterative until ready and out of the committee
  • When approved by the majority of members o the committee, the bill is returned to the full chamber on the order of the Second Reading.
• Second Reading
  
  • Inform the members of the chamber who were not on the Committee of what happened in the Committee
• Close vote, pass unanimously etc.
  
  • Sponsor explains why the bill is intended to do and why amended,

Question 6

Third Reading

• Once bill is in final shape in the Second Reading it is moved to Order of the Third Reading.
  
  • The Third Reading is a final action, where the bill gets voted out of the chamber or fails or is stuck
  • Third reading legislator feedback is invaluable
• Legislative history of this right before final vote is important in sorting out questions of legislative intent
  
  • IF enough votes to pass, the bill goes to the other chamber and the whole process starts again
  • If that passes, it goes to the executive, President or Governor.
    
    • If the 2nd chamber changes the bill, returns to the 1st chamber to see if the changes were ok before the executive.
    • Both have to agree to go to the executive