Legislative Process Flashcards
What is main legislative body?
Parliament which consists of House of Commons and House of Lords, they pass about 30 acts per year
What is the pre-legislative process?
Every govt. department responsible for area of govt. if a change in law is being considered it will draft ideas for change in green paper and white paper
What is a green paper?
Initial consultation document to gain views about proposed new law and inviting suggestions from interested parties. Amendments may be made from feedback
What is a white paper?
Document which sets out govt. preffered approach to future piece of legislation. Limited opportunity for comment - it is information
What are bills?
When new law is making it through formal stages of becoming an act of parliament.
There are public bills, private member bills and private bills
What are public bills, private member hills and private bills?
Public bills: involves public policy affecting whole country/majority of it. Most bills in this category e.g. Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015
Private members bill: individual MPs not part of govt. (backbenchers) introduce bill e.g. Abortion Act 1967
Private Bills: designed to create law only affecting individual ppl or corporations, not public e.g. University College London Act 1996 combined number of medical schools with University College
What are the legislative stages? First reading- report stage
First reading; formality in which short title and main aims of bill announced and order to be printed. No debate
Second reading: main debate on whole bill takes place via speaker - minister, mp or Lord describes aims and feiles questions on main principles, rather than detail. Vote is taken, needs majority
Committee stage: a detailed examination of bill by committee of 15-60 MPs, usually by standing commitee entitled to make recommendations for amendments to reflect interim discussed in second reading. Membership of committtes roughly represents seats
Report stage: after scrutiny by committee, they “report back” any amendments to house, vote on whether to accept
Legislative process: third reading - royal assent
Third reading: gives house final chance to look at bill as whole to deceive whether to pass to next stage, almost formality
Repeats process in other house:
Bill passes to other house, goes through 5 stages, if amendments made it goes back to other house, sending back and forth can be called “ping pong” until changes agreed by both
Royal assent: monarch formally gives approval to bill and it becomes AOP. A formality
What if houses can’t agree?
Under parliament acts 1911 and 1949, House of Lords can only delay passage by 1 year, annoy prevent it
