The Legislative Process

How A Bill Becomes Law

The Virginia legislative process is designed so to make it difficult to pass a law.  And this is how we want it!  There are many places along the way where a bill can be defeated.  The intention is that only the very best laws are enacted.

There are a few things that are important to keep in mind.  First, Virginia laws are exclusionary, not permissive.  In other words, the laws don't typically give us permissions, instead they prohibit things.

In Virginia each bill is given a title.  Even though a bill can be amended as it passes through the system, things cannot be added to the bill that are not relevant to the title.  This prevents someone from adding an amendment banning widgets to a bill about planting roses.

Keep in mind that the terminology used can be unfamiliar.  For instance, a bill being passed by is very different from a bill that is passed.  We'll include a glossary of terms at the end to help those not familiar with this language.

Now let's take a look at the process used by our General Assembly.  You can follow along with the session by visiting LIS.Virginia.gov, where you'll find a lot of useful information.  To keep up with legislation that impacts your 2A rights check the VCDL Legislative Tracking Tool regularly.

The Process

• A Senator or Delegate prepares a piece of legislation.  They are called the Patron of the bill.
• The Patron explains their intentions to a staff attorney in the Division of Legislative Services, who checks existing law and constitutionality.
• The bill is then drafted by the Division of Legislative Services and delivered back to the Patron.
• The Patron signs the bill and delivers it to the Clerk of the appropriate body (House or Senate).
• The bill is ordered printed.
• The bill is then placed on the Calendar for the First Reading on the Floor.  This is where the piece of legislation is first read by the Clerk to the members of the Body.  It is officially on the Agenda.  It is not uncommon for the First Reading to be waived.
• Speaker then assigns the bill to a Standing Committee, also called a full committee.
• The full committee typically assigns the bill to a subcommittee, who debates the legislation and makes recommendations.
  • Subcommittee is the first place a bill can be defeated.
  • This is the public's opportunity to speak on the merits of a bill!
  • The Subcommittee can take the following actions:
    • They can pass the bill by for a specific period or indefinitely (see below).
    • They can report the bill back to the full committee.
    • They can ignore the bill and not consider it at all (similar to a pocket veto).
    • Note: If the full committee did not assign the bill to a subcommittee, public comments are taken at the full committee level.
  • If a bill is is reported back to the full committee, the subcommittee will advise of their recommendations (pass the bill, don't pass the bill, or no recommendation).
  • The full committee will vote on the bill, taking the subcommittee's recommendations into account.  The full committee can then take one of the following actions:
    • They can pass the bill by for a specific period or indefinitely.
    • They can refer the bill to the Floor for consideration by the entire body.
    • They can ignore the bill and not consider it all.
    • They can refer the bill to another committee (such as the Finance committee).
• The reported bill is then given its Second Reading on the Floor.  For the Senate, this is where amendments can be made to the bill and where the Patron makes their case for the legislation and the bill is openly debated.  For both the Senate and the House, the bill can be engrossed by a voice vote for its third reading or defeated.
• Engrossed bills are presented the following day for the Third Reading.  For the House, this is where amendments can be made to the bill and where the Patron makes their case for the legislation and the bill is openly debated.  For both the House and the Senate, a recorded vote is taken and the bill is either passed or defeated.
• Once a bill is passed in the originating body, it is sent to the other body for consideration.  The bill will go through the same process all over again.  The alternate body will not consider these bills until after Crossover Day.
• If the bill passes out of the alternate Body unchanged, then the bill is Enrolled and sent to the Governor.
• If the alternate body makes any changes to the bill, the originating body votes to either accept the changes or insist on their version of the bill.  If the originating body accepts the changes, the bill is enrolled and sent to the Governor.  If they don't accept the changes, then the alternate body can acquiesce and retract their changes or they can insist on their changes.  If they acquiesce, then the bill is enrolled and sent to the Governor.  Otherwise the bill is sent to a Conference Committee to resolve the differences.  The Conference Committee is made up of three members from each Body and can:
  • Accept one Body's version of the bill and report it out
    
  • Come to a compromise and report it out
    
  • No agreement is reached and the bill is defeated
• If a bill was sent to conference committee and reported out, each body must do an up or down vote (no debate) to accept the conference committee's report. Both bodies must accept the conference committee's report or the bill is defeated.  If the report is accepted, then the bill is enrolled and sent to the Governor.
  
• Approved bills are Enrolled and signed by both Speakers.  The bills are then sent to the Governor for approval.
• The Governor has several options, including:
  • Sign the legislation into law.
    
  • Amend the bill and send it back to the General Assembly for approval.
  • Veto the bill, which returns it to the General Assembly for the Veto Session.
  • Take no action, in which case the bill becomes law without the Governor's signature.
• If a bill is vetoed, it is voted on again in both the House and the Senate.  It requires a 2/3 majority in each Body to override the veto.  The first Body to vote is the one where the bill originated.
• If the Governor changed the bill, then both Bodies take an up or down vote to accept or reject the Governor's changes.  If they both accept the changes, the bill is considered to be passed into law.  If either Body rejects the changes, the Governor can then either sign the bill without his changes, veto the bill, defeating it immediately, or not sign the bill and let it become law automatically.
  
• Bills that are passed are then sent to the Clerk of the house, who is the Keeper of the Rolls for the Commonwealth.  They are assigned a Chapter number and are compiled and bound as the Acts of Assembly.
• Bills that are passed in a Regular Session become effective on July 1st following the adjournment of the session.  Bills that are passed in a Special Session take effect on the 1st day of the 4th month following adjournment of that session.  The standard effective date can be overridden by Emergency Legislation, which takes effect upon signing by the Governor, or stipulations in a bill giving an alternate effective date.  For instance, a bill may say that the act takes effect in 2 years on a specific date.

Crossover Day:  Any bills that have passed the House of Delegates get sent to the Senate.  Bills that passed the Senate get sent to the House.  Bills that have not been considered by their originating body are dead for the session.

Engrossed:  This is the version of the bill, with any amendments included, that officially goes on to the third reading.

Enrolled:  A bill that has passed both Bodies and has been signed by both Speakers is considered Enrolled.  It then heads to the Governor.

Lay on the Table:  This is a motion to not act on the bill, but leave the option for reconsideration if there is a vote to do so.  Once this motion is made, no more discussion of the bill is permitted.

Passed by:   This means the bill is set aside and not acted on at that time.  The Committee can reconsider the bill at a later date.  However, if they do not call the bill up again it is dead for that session.  This is sometimes used when the Committee wants to get more information or consider the bill in a later meeting.  They will typically say "Passed by for the day."

Passed by indefinitely (PBI):  This takes the bill off the committee's docket and kills the bill for the session.  However, if someone who voted on the prevailing side makes a motion to reconsider, it can be brought back with a majority vote.

Pocket Veto:  1) The Speaker of the House holds a bill so that it is never assigned to a committee or 2) a committee chair holds a bill so that it is never heard in committee.  With either option the bill is defeated without ever having a vote.  This can be done if time has run out to hear bills for the session or, more likely, to avoid having certain members of a committee vote on a "controversial" bill.

Printed:  When a bill is printed it means that it is officially enrolled or filed.  This is the certification process to enter the bill into the system in its current form.

Referred/Re-Referred:  This is the process of assigning the bill to a committee for consideration.  Re-referring would be sending the bill to a different committee.  This is done if the bill was not sent to the appropriate committee, or if more than one committee must consider the bill.

Reported:  When a Committee approves a bill and sends it to the Floor for consideration by the entire Body.

Standing Committee:  These are the standard committees of the body.  Each committee deals with a different specialty, like agriculture, transportation, education, etc.  They are determined by the rules of that body.  In Virginia, the House of Delegates has 14 Standing Committees and the Senate has 11.

Tabled:  See Lay on the Table above