Published: February 15, 2018
A bill starts out in the House or Senate, the process is the same for both of them, for this example let’s say the bill starts in the House. The bill is brought to the House and is then read a couple times so that it is sent to the correct committee, the New Voices act got sent to the Elementary and Secondary Education House Committee. Committees in the House and Senate are groups of congressman that handles a specific duty. When the bill is heard in the House people that are for the passing of the bill can speak to the committee and those who are against is can as well. After the people speak the committee members decide if they want to have the bill continue to the House floor. When it makes it to the House floor the congressmen vote on it and if it passes it continues to the Senate.
When it reaches the Senate it gets read over and sent to the right committee again. At the committee hearing, people can again speak in support or against the proposed bill. Amendments or changes to the bill would happen at this time after it is sent to the Senate floor to be voted on again. This is where the New Voices Act has been stopped previous years. Based on the changes the Senate made to the bill three things can happen at this point.
If the bill passes through the House and Senate in identical forms it is then sent to the governor. If the bill has changed and passes in the Senate with those changes, it is sent back to the House and voted on again. If it passes the House again it is then sent to the governor. If it doesn’t pass in the House with the amendments it is sent back to the Senate for reconsideration. If the Senate doesn’t change the amendments, members from the House and Senate meet in a conference committee to reach an agreement. After an agreement is made it is then sent to the governor.
Once it reaches the governor they can sign it, and it becomes a law. If they veto it the bill can still pass with ⅔ approval from both the House and Senate. If it doesn’t get the ⅔ approval it fails to become a bill.
To help make sure that house bill 1940 becomes a law this year there are ways that you can help.
Your donation will support the student journalists of Francis Howell North High School. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.