When do bills take effect

There are House members and 67 senators. The Office of the Revisor of Statutes and staff from other legislative offices work with legislators in putting the idea for a new law into proper legal form.

The revisor's office is responsible for assuring that the proposal's form complies with the rules of both bodies before the bill can be introduced into the Minnesota House of Representatives and the Minnesota Senate. Each bill must have a legislator to sponsor and introduce it in the Legislature. That legislator is the chief author whose name appears on the bill along with the bill's file number to identify it as it moves through the legislative process.

There may be up to 34 coauthors from the House and four from the Senate. Their names also appear on the bill. The chief House author of the bill introduces it in the House; the chief Senate author introduces it in the Senate.

Identical bills introduced in each body are called companion bills. The bill introduction is called the first reading. The presiding officer of the House then refers it to an appropriate House committee for discussion; the same thing happens in the Senate. The bill is discussed in one or more committees depending upon the subject matter. After discussion, committee members recommend action—approval or disapproval—to the full House and full Senate.

The House committee then sends a report to the House about its action on the bill; the Senate committee does likewise in the Senate. After the full House or Senate accepts the committee report, the bill has its second reading and is placed on the House agenda called the General Register or the Senate agenda called General Orders.

A committee can recommend that non-controversial bills bypass the General Register or General Orders and go onto the Consent Calendar, where bills usually pass without debate. After this point, House and Senate procedures differ slightly. In the House, the General Register serves as a parking lot where bills await action by the full body. In the Senate, a different procedure is used. Bills are listed on the General Orders agenda. Senate members, acting as the "committee of the whole," have a chance to debate the issue and offer amendments on the bill.

Afterwards, they vote to recommend: passage of the bill, progress delay action , or further committee action. And sometimes they recommend that a bill not pass. From here, the bill is placed on the Calendar. Members can vote to amend the bill, and after amendments are dispensed with, the bill is given its third reading before the vote of the full body is taken. The House also has a Fiscal Calendar , on which the chair of the House Ways and Means Committee or House Taxes Committee can call up for consideration any tax or finance bill that has had a second reading.

The bills are debated, amended, and passed in one day. In the Senate, bills approved by the "committee of the whole" are placed on the Calendar.

The House Calendar - A list of all the public bills that do not address money and maybe considered by the House of Representatives. The Corrections Calendar - A list of bills selected by the Speaker of the House in consultation with the Minority leader that will be considered in the House and debated for one hour.

Generally, bills are selected because they focus on changing laws, rules and regulations that are judged to be outdated or unnecessary. The Private Calendar - A list of all the private bills that are to be considered by the House. It is called on the first and third Tuesday of every month. Bills - A legislative proposal that if passed by both the House and the Senate and approved by the President becomes law. Each bill is assigned a bill number. HR denotes bills that originate in the House and S denotes bills that originate in the Senate.

Private Bill - A bill that is introduced on behalf of a specific individual that if it is enacted into law only affects the specific person or organization the bill concerns. Often, private bills address immigration or naturalization issues. Simple Resolution - A type of legislation designated by H Res or S Res that is used primarily to express the sense of the chamber where it is introduced or passed.

It only has the force of the chamber passing the resolution. A simple resolution is not signed by the President and cannot become Public Law. Concurrent Resolutions - A type of legislation designated by H Con Res or S Con Res that is often used to express the sense of both chambers, to set annual budget or to fix adjournment dates. Concurrent resolutions are not signed by the President and therefore do not hold the weight of law.

Calendar Wednesday - A procedure in the House of Representatives during which each standing committees may bring up for consideration any bill that has been reported on the floor on or before the previous day.

The procedure also limits debate for each subject matter to two hours. Cloture - A motion generally used in the Senate to end a filibuster. If cloture is invoked further debate is limited to 30 hours, it is not a vote on the passage of the piece of legislation. Committee of The Whole - A committee including all members of the House. It allows bills and resolutions to be considered without adhering to all the formal rules of a House session, such as needing a quorum of All measures on the Union Calendar must be considered first by the Committee of the Whole.

Co-Sponsor - A member or members that add his or her name formally in support of another members bill. In the House a member can become a co-sponsor of a bill at any point up to the time the last authorized committee considers it. In the Senate a member can become a co-sponsor of a bill anytime before the vote takes place on the bill. However, a co-sponsor is not required and therefore, not every bill has a co-sponsor or co-sponsors. Discharge Petition - A petition that if signed by a majority of the House, members, requires a bill to come out of a committee and be moved to the floor of the House.

Filibuster - An informal term for extended debate or other procedures used to prevent a vote on a bill in the Senate. This is an administrative function only and does not carry power of veto by refusal. The bill is then forwarded to the Secretary of State.

The bill is transmitted to the Governor by the Secretary of State. It may be recalled from the Governor any time before it is acted upon, by a majority vote of the Senate or House, whichever last had possession. If the legislature has not adjourned, the Governor has five days in which to sign the bill, veto the bill, or allow the measure to pass without signature.

When the bill is signed, it becomes law; if it is neither signed nor vetoed, it becomes law without signature. If the bill is vetoed, it returns to the body where it originated, with a veto message.

This veto, to be overturned, must have a two-thirds roll call vote in each body. Without the two-thirds affirmative vote in both bodies, the veto is upheld. If the Legislature has adjourned, the Governor has five days excluding Sundays and holidays in which to sign the bill. If it is not signed, the bill dies. This is the "pocket veto. The following procedure is followed in making laws in the State of New Hampshire.

How the Bill is presented to the Legislature The drafted bill is first given to the Clerk of the Senate or House - to whichever body the sponsor belongs. Standing Committees Standing committees for the House and Senate are appointed by the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate respectively.

The Bill and Committee Hearings Every bill introduced and referred to a committee must have a public hearing unless the rules are suspended by two-thirds of the members present. Testimony at and Conduct of Committee Hearings The Chairman announces the number and title of the bill at the beginning of the hearing. The Bill and Committee Deliberation Committee deliberation and decision is done in executive session.

This report reflects the majority decision of those at the committee deliberation The Bill on the Floor of the House or Senate All bills may be acted upon the day after the committee report appears in the House Calendar. In the Senate, the motion for reconsideration must be made within the following two session days; in the House, the motion must be made within the next succeeding session day.

Five-Day Rule No bill can become law at any regular session of the Legislature until it has been printed and reproduced and in the possession of each house for at least five days. Constitution, Art. IV, Sec. Immediate Effect No act shall take effect until the expiration of 90 days from the end of the session at which the measure was enacted.

The Legislature may give immediate effect to an act by a two-thirds vote of the members elected and serving in each house. Enactment by the Legislature If a bill passes, it is sent to the other house of the Legislature where the bill follows the procedure outlined above, resulting in defeat or passage.

If a bill is passed by both houses in identical form, the bill is ordered enrolled by the house in which the bill originated. Following enrollment and printing, the bill is sent to the Governor. If a bill is passed in a different form by the second house, the bill must be returned to the house of origin and one of the following occurs: a. If the amendment s or substitute bill of the second house is accepted in the house of origin, the bill is enrolled, printed, and sent to the Governor.

It should also be noted that either house may amend an amendment made by the other to a bill or joint resolution. At any time while in possession of the bill, either house may recede from its position in whole or in part and the bill may be returned to the other house for this purpose. If this further action is agreed to by both houses, the bill is ordered enrolled. If the amendment s or substitute proposal of the second house is rejected in the house of origin, the bill is then sent to a conference committee a special committee composed of three legislators from each house which attempts to compromise differences between the two versions of the bill.

The conference committee can consider only issues in the bill upon which there is disagreement between the two houses. However, when the agreement arrived at by the conferees is such that it affects other parts of the bill, such as in an appropriations measure, the conferees may recommend further amendments to conform with the agreement. The conferees may also recommend corrections to any errors in the bill.

The conference committee may reach a compromise approved by at least a majority of the conferees from each house, and submit a report to the house of origin.

If adopted, the report and bill are transmitted to the second house. If the conference committee report is approved in the second house, the bill is then enrolled, printed, and sent to the Governor.