Bill (law): Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Proposed law}}

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[[File:Photograph_of_President_William_J._Clinton_Signing_an_Airline_Transportation_Bill_-_NARA_-_2194589.jpg|thumb|US President [[Bill Clinton]] signing a bill]]

A '''bill''' is a proposed new law introduced within a [[legislature]] that has not been [[ratification|ratified]] or adopted.

A '''bill''' is a proposal for a new law, or a proposal to substantially alter an existing law.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.parliament.uk/site-information/glossary/bills/?id=32625 |title=Bills |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2023 |website=UK Parliament |access-date=27 August 2023 }}</ref>

==How a bill becomes a law in the United States==

Any member of [[Congress]] is able to introduce a bill, making him or her the sponsor of that particular bill. The congressperson introduces the bill by giving it to a [[clerk]] or depositing it into a box called a [[hopper]]. Each bill has a unique number, such as HR1 for a bill introduced in the [[House of Representatives]] or SR1 for a bill introduced in the [[Senate]]. Next the [[Speaker of the House]] or the officer of the Senate refers the bill to a committee. There are specific rules that dictate to which committee the bill will be sent, but a choice is often possible. A bill may also be referred to multiple committees at once, called [[multiple referral]]. After the bill is heard in the first committee or subcommittee, it is "marked up," or revised, often extensively. The bill needs a majority vote from the committee to move forward. Once the bill is submitted for consideration by the committee, it is sent to the chamber whence it originally came and voted upon (though there are several ways a bill can be dropped and never voted on). Depending on the type of bill, either a [[simple majority]] or a [[supermajority]] of either 60 percent or 2/3 is needed for the bill to pass the chamber. Once the bill is passed by one chamber, it is sent to the other.

A bill does not become law until it has been passed by the [[legislature]] and, in most cases, approved by the [[Executive (government)|executive]].

Upon reaching the other chamber, it is treated just like any other newly proposed bill. It goes through the committee process and if passed, it goes to the floor of the entire chamber. The bill is subject to revision at every step of the process, so it often bears little resemblance to the original bill. In fact, it's not uncommon for a bill's sponsor to vote against it in the end. Revisions are most commonly added in the form of Amendments, many of which have little or nothing to do with the original bill. Sometimes an amendment called a poison pill is attached specifically to get the bill killed. Someone with enough influence in a committee may craft an amendment they know that no one who supports the bill wants in order to get them to vote against their own bill. Another common tactic is to attach amendments for pet projects to a popular bill to make it easier to get them through. [[Pork barrel]] spending is often approved this way.

Bills are introduced in the legislature and are there discussed, debated on, and voted upon. Once a bill has been enacted into law by the legislature, it is called an ''[[Act of Parliament|act of the legislature]]'', or a ''[[statute]]''.

Once the bill has passed both houses, it goes to a Conference Committee. This is to reconcile the differences virtually always present between the versions passed by each house. Once the Conference Committee reaches an agreement, the bill goes to the President of the United States. He can either sign it, veto it or take no action at all. Signing the bill makes it law. If he vetoes the bill, it is sent back to the house that referred it to him. They vote on it again and pass it to the other house. If both houses pass the bill again with 2/3 majorities, the bill automatically becomes law.

==Usage==

The word ''bill'' is mainly used in English-speaking nations formerly part of the [[British Empire]] whose legal systems originated in the [[common law]] of the [[United Kingdom]], including the [[United States]]. The parts of a bill are known as ''clauses'', until it has become an act of parliament, from which time the parts of the law are known as ''sections''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parliament.uk/site-information/glossary/clause/|website=UK Parliament|access-date=15 July 2015|title=Clauses - Glossary page}}</ref>

In nations that have [[civil law (legal system)|civil law]] systems (including [[France]], [[Belgium]], [[Luxembourg]], [[Spain]] and [[Portugal]]), a proposed law is known as a "law project" (Fr. ''projet de loi'') if introduced by the government, or a "law proposition" (Fr. ''proposition de loi'') if a [[private member's bill]]. Some legislatures do not make this terminological distinction (for example the [[Netherlands|Dutch]] parliament uses ''wetsontwerp'' and ''wetsvoorstel'' interchangeably).

The third option, no action at all, can lead to two separate consequences, depending on what happens in the next 10 days. Once 10 days expire, Congress can pick the bill up and pass it into law without the President's signature. However, they must be in session in order to take this action. If they are not in session, the bill is treated as if it had been vetoed. This is called a ''Pocket Veto'', and the bill will be waiting for Congress when they return from recess. If they override veto on a 2/3 vote in both houses, it becomes law. Otherwise it dies.

In Canada, bills in the federal parliament are always bilingual. The term "projet de loi" is used for the French version, while "bill" is used for the English version.

==Preparation==

{{Anchor|Pre-legislative scrutiny}}<!-- [[Pre-legislative scrutiny]] redirects here -->

Bills generally include [[title]]s, [[List of enacting clauses|enacting provisions]], [[Legislative intent|statements of intent]], [[definition]]s, [[Substantive law|substantive provisions]], [[Transition (linguistics)|transitional clauses]], and dates which the bill will be put into effect.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Kealy|first1=Sean|title=African Parliamentary Knowledge Network Legislative Handbook: Using Evidence to Design and Assess Legislation|url=http://sites.bu.edu/dome/files/2016/02/APKN-Legislative-Handbook-5.pdf}}</ref> The preparation of a bill may involve the production of a draft bill prior to the introduction of the bill into the legislature.<ref>Hilaire Barnett. Constitutional and Administrative Law. Second Edition. Cavendish. 1998. Page 537.</ref> In the United Kingdom, draft bills are frequently considered to be confidential.<ref>Bradley and Ewing. Constitutional and Administrative Law. Twelfth Edition. Longman. 1997. Page 718.</ref> Pre-legislative scrutiny is a formal process carried out by a parliamentary committee on a draft bill.<ref>{{cite web |title=Glossary page — Pre-legislative scrutiny |url=https://www.parliament.uk/site-information/glossary/pre-legislative-scrutiny/ |website=UK Parliament |access-date=4 Feb 2019 |language=en}}</ref>

In the [[Parliament of India]], the draft bill is sent to the individual ministry relating to the matter. From there the bill goes to the [[Ministry of Law and Justice (India)|Ministry of Law and Justice]] and is then passed on to the [[Cabinet Committee (India)|Cabinet committee]], which the [[Prime Minister of India|prime minister]] heads.

Pre-legislative scrutiny is required in much of Scandinavia, occurs in Ireland at the discretion of the Oireachtas (parliament) and occurs in the UK at the government's discretion.<ref>{{cite web |series=Spotlight |number=No. 8 of 2014 |publisher=Oireachtas |title=Pre-legislative scrutiny (PLS) by parliament |url=https://data.oireachtas.ie/ie/oireachtas/libraryResearch/2014/2014-12-18_spotlight-pre-legislative-scrutiny-by-parliament_en.pdf}}</ref>

In the [[Parliament of Ireland]] under [[Poynings' Law (on certification of acts)|Poynings' Law]] (1494–1782) legislation had to be pre-approved by the [[Privy Council of Ireland]] and [[Privy Council of England]], so in practice each bill was substantively debated as "heads of a bill", then submitted to the privy councils for approval, and finally formally introduced as a bill and rejected or passed unamended.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kelly |first1=James |chapter=The making of law in eighteenth-century Ireland : the significance and import of Poynings' law |editor1-last=Dawson |editor1-first=Norma |title=Reflections on Law and History: Irish Legal History Society Discourses and Other Papers, 2000–2005 |date=2006 |publisher=Four Courts Press |isbn=9781851829378 |language=en |volume=17 |pages=259–277}}</ref>

==Introduction==

In the [[Westminster system]], where the executive is drawn from the legislature and usually holds a majority in the lower house, most bills are introduced by the executive ([[Government bill (law)|government bill]]). In principle, the legislature meets to consider the demands of the executive, as set out in the [[Speech from the throne|King's Speech]] or ''speech from the throne''.

Mechanisms exist to allow other members of the legislature to introduce bills, but they are subject to strict timetables and usually fail unless a consensus is reached. In the US system, where the executive is formally separated from the legislature, all bills must originate from the legislature. Bills can be introduced using the following procedures:

*'''Leave:''' A motion is brought before the chamber asking that leave be given to bring in a bill. This is used in the British system in the form of the ''[[Ten Minute Rule]]'' motion. The legislator has 10 minutes to propose a bill, which can then be considered by the House on a day appointed for the purpose. While this rule remains in place in the rules of procedure of the US Congress, it is seldom used.

*'''Government motion:''' In jurisdictions where the executive can control legislative business a bill may be brought in by [[executive fiat]].

==Legislative stages==

{{main|Reading (legislature)}}

Bills are generally considered through a number of readings. This refers to the historic practice of the clerical officers of the legislature reading the contents of a bill to the legislature. While the bill is no longer read, the motions on the bill still refer to this practice.

=== India ===

In [[India]], for a law to be made it starts off as a bill and has to go through various stages:

# There will be "first reading" of the bill where minister takes leave from the house and introduces title and objectives of the bill. Here, no discussion or voting takes place. And then the bill is published in ''[[Gazette of India]]''.

# After this there is a "second reading" of the bill, where the bill receives its final shape.

# The bills first go through the 'stage of general discussion' where the bill is referred to select committee/joint committee for detailed scrutiny through a motion.

# Under 'committee stage' the bill is scrutinized in detail in the committee and a report is submitted in the respective house.

# Under 'consideration stage' the bill is discussed in detail in the house and is voted upon.

# Then under "third reading" the bill is voted upon as a whole and if majority of the house present and voting favours the bill, then the bill is considered passed and is authenticated by presiding officer.

# The bill is then passed to the other house for its consideration.

# And if both houses agree, the bill reaches the [[President (government title)|president]] where he can assent, withhold assent, return for consideration and can also sit on the bill.

===United Kingdom===

In the United Kingdom, a proposed new law starts off as a bill that goes through seven stages of the legislative process: first reading, second reading, committee stage, report stage, third reading, opposite house, and royal assent. A bill is introduced by a [[member of Parliament]] (MP) in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] or by a member of the [[House of Lords]].

There will be a '''first reading''' of the bill, in which the proposition in the bill is read out, but there is minimal discussion and no voting.

A '''second reading''' of the bill follows, in which the bill is presented in more detail and it is discussed between the MPs or Lords.

The third stage is the '''committee stage''', in which a committee is gathered. This may include MPs, Lords, professionals and experts in the field, and other people who the bill may affect. The purpose of this stage is to go into more detail on the bill and gather expert opinions on it (e.g. teachers may be present in a committee about a bill that would affect the education system) and amendments may be brought.

After this is the '''report stage''', in which the entire house reviews any and all changes made to the bill since its conception and may bring further amendments.

The fifth stage is the '''third reading''' of the bill, in which the full bill is read out in the house along with all amendments and is given final approval by the House.

The next stage is where the bill is handed over to the '''opposite house''' for approval. (If it started in the House of Commons it will be handed to the House of Lords and vice versa.) Here the bill will go through the same process as before, with amendments able to be brought. If amendments are brought, the bill will again be handed to the opposite house, going through the same process, which repeats until both houses arrive at an agreement on the bill. (In the rare circumstance that the two houses cannot agree, the House of Commons has the final say since it is an elected body, whereas the House of Lords is not).

Once the bill is finalised, it will move to the final stage, '''[[royal assent]]''', when the monarch signs or otherwise signifies approval for the bill to become law. Theoretically, the monarch could refuse assent to a bill, but no monarch has done so since Queen Anne in 1708, and the royal veto has fallen into disuse. Once the assent is granted, the law comes into effect at the date and time specified within the act; if this is not specified within the act, it comes into effect at midnight on the same day it is granted royal assent.

==Enactment and after==

{{anchor|Enactment}}<!-- [[Enactment of a bill]] redirects here -->

{{Redirect|How a bill becomes a law|the ''Parks and Recreation'' episode|How a Bill Becomes a Law}}

Where a piece of [[primary legislation]] is termed an [[Act (law)|act]], the process of a bill becoming law may be termed '''enactment'''. Once a bill is passed by the legislature, it may automatically become law, or it may need further approval, in which case enactment may be effected by the approver's [[signature]] or [[proclamation]].

===Approval===

[[File:A bill to amend the act entitled "An act to organize forces to serve during the war," approved Feb. 17, 1864 - DPLA - fc4d271150352e88d767d951bb2ae001 (page 2).jpg|thumb|A bill to amend the act entitled "An act to organize forces to serve during the war," approved Feb. 17, 1864]]

Bills passed by the legislature usually require the approval of the head of state such as the monarch, president, or governor to become law.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.parliament.uk/about/how/laws/bills.cfm |title=UK Parliament - Bills |access-date=2009-05-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090312070023/http://www.parliament.uk/about/how/laws/bills.cfm |archive-date=12 March 2009 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> The refusal of such an approval is typically known as a ''[[veto]]''.

Exceptions are the [[Irish Free State]] from the abolition of the [[Governor-General of the Irish Free State|governor-general]] in December 1936 to the creation of the office of [[President of Ireland|president]] in December 1937, and [[Israel]] from its formation until today, during which period bills approved by the [[Oireachtas of the Irish Free State|Oireachtas]] and [[Knesset]] respectively became/become law immediately (though, in Israel's case, the laws are ceremonially signed after their passage by the president).

In [[parliamentary system]]s, approval of the head of state is normally a formality since the head of state is a ceremonial figurehead. The exercise of the veto is considered a [[reserve power]] and is typically only used in rare circumstances, and the legislature can usually override the veto by a simple majority vote. However, in most cases, the executive – a cabinet of ministers responsible to parliament – takes a veto by the head of state into account.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.ft.com/content/6b3bd1ae-89d7-11da-86d1-0000779e2340 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/6b3bd1ae-89d7-11da-86d1-0000779e2340 |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Berlusconi embarrassed by presidential veto |first=Tony |last=Barber |date=20 January 2006 |newspaper=[[Financial Times]] |___location=London}}</ref>

In [[presidential system]]s, the head of state is also the chief executive, and the need to receive approval can be used as a political tool by them. The legislature is only able to override the veto by means of a [[supermajority]] vote in some countries such as Mexico, Kenya, and Argentina, while other presidential republics such as Brazil allow an override by merely a majority of the members of each House of Congress.

Some vetos held by some presidents allow them to disallow some particular clauses in the bill, while approving of others, as in France, and in some cases pertaining to expenditure bills, may allow the amounts for some line items to be reduced or eliminated, as is the case for most American state governors.

In some jurisdictions, a bill passed by the legislature may also involve review by a [[constitutional court]]. If the court finds the bill would violate the [[constitution]] it may annul it or send it back to the legislature for correction. In Ireland, the president has discretion under [[Article 26 of the Constitution of Ireland|Article 26 of the Constitution]] to refer bills to the [[Supreme Court of Ireland|Supreme Court]]. In Germany, the [[Federal Constitutional Court]] has discretion to rule on bills.

Some bills may require approval by [[referendum]]. In Ireland this is obligatory for [[Amendments to the Constitution of Ireland|bills to amend the constitution]]; it is possible for other bills via [[ordinary referendum|a process that has never been used]].

===Afterwards===

A bill may [[coming into force|come into force]] as soon as it becomes law, or it may specify a later date to come into force, or it may specify by whom and how it may be brought into force; for example, by [[ministerial order]]. Different parts of an act may come into force at different times.

An act is typically [[promulgated]] by being published in an [[official gazette]]. This may be required on enactment, coming into force, or both.

==Numbering of bills==

Legislatures may give bills numbers as they progress.

===Australia===

Bills are not given numbers in Australia and are typically cited by their [[short title]]s. They are only given an act number upon [[royal assent]].

===Brazil===

In Brazil, bills originating in both the [[Brazilian Senate|Senate]] and the [[Chamber of Deputies]] are numbered sequentially, prefixed with "PL" ({{lang|pt-br|Projeto de Lei}}) and optionally suffixed with the year they were proposed, separated by a slash, as in PL 1234/1988. Until 2019, each house used a different numbering and naming system, but the system was unified by a 2018 joint act by the secretaries of both houses.<ref>{{cite web |title=Congresso adota nova forma de numerar projetos de lei |url=https://www12.senado.leg.br/noticias/materias/2019/02/05/congresso-adota-nova-forma-de-numerar-projetos-de-lei |website=Senado Federal |access-date=18 September 2023 |language=pt-br}}</ref>

Before the 2019 unification, the Senate numbered bills starting at the beginning of each year,<ref>{{cite web |title=Como funciona a numeração de projetos no Senado |url=https://www12.senado.leg.br/noticias/materias/2012/01/31/como-funciona-a-numeracao-de-projetos-no-senado |website=Senado Federal |access-date=18 September 2023 |language=pt-br |date=31 January 2012}}</ref> while the lower house numbered bills starting at the beginning of each legislature.{{cn|date=September 2023}} This meant that bills sent from one house to another could adopt two or more different names.

===Canada===

In the [[House of Commons of Canada]], the [[Bills C-1 and S-1|pro forma bill]] is numbered C-1, Government Bills are numbered C-2 to C-200, numbered sequentially from the start of each [[Legislative session|parliamentary session]], and [[Private member's bill|Private member's bills]] are numbered C-201 to C-1000, numbered sequentially from the start of each Parliament.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ourcommons.ca/procedure/procedure-and-practice-3/ch_16_4-e.html |title=Chapter 16 The Legislative Process |last1=Bosc |first1=Marc |last2=Gagnon |first2=André |date=2017 |website=www.ourcommons.ca |publisher=[[House of Commons of Canada]] |access-date=June 12, 2024 |quote="During each session of a Parliament, government bills are numbered consecutively from C-2 to C-200. Private Members’ bills are numbered consecutively from C-201 to C-1000 throughout the life of a Parliament, since they are not nullified by prorogation. Private bills, which are rarely introduced in the House, are numbered beginning at C-1001. In order to differentiate between bills introduced in the two Houses of Parliament, the number assigned to bills introduced in the Senate begins with an “S” rather than a “C”."}}</ref>

The numbering system is identical in the [[Senate of Canada]], except that bills first introduced in the Senate of Canada begin with "S" instead of "C".

=== Ireland ===

In the Irish [[Oireachtas]], bills are numbered sequentially from the start of each calendar year. Bills originating in the [[Dáil]] and [[Seanad Éireann|Seanad]] share a common sequence. There are separate sequences for public and private bills, the latter prefixed with "P". Although [[Amendments to the Constitution of Ireland|acts to amend the constitution]] are outside the annual sequence used for other public acts, [[List of failed amendments to the Constitution of Ireland|bills to amend the constitution]] are within the annual sequence of public bills.<ref>For example, [http://www.oireachtas.ie/viewdoc.asp?DocID=-1&StartDate=1+January+2002&CatID=59 the list of Oireachtas bills for 2002] includes numbers 31 and 32 (constitutional amendments) 45 and 47 (originating in Seanad) 46 (originating in Dáil) and P1 (private).</ref>

=== Philippines ===

{{Main|List of Philippine laws}}

In the [[Philippines]], all bills passed into law, regardless of whether they were introduced in the [[House of Representatives of the Philippines|House of Representatives]] or the [[Senate of the Philippines|Senate]], are numbered sequentially beginning with the first Republic Act that became law on July 15, 1946. There have been 11,646 Republic Acts as of January 21, 2022.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Republic Acts {{!}} Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines|url=https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/section/republic-acts/|url-status=live|access-date=2022-01-26|website=Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220126024217/https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/section/republic-acts/|archive-date=2022-01-26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Republic Act No. 11646 {{!}} GOVPH|url=https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2022/01/21/republic-act-no-11646/|url-status=live|access-date=2022-01-26|website=Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines|archive-date=2022-01-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220126023506/https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2022/01/21/republic-act-no-11646/}}</ref> All laws passed by Congress, once given presidential assent, become law and are given a sequential number and are prefixed with "Republic Act" or "R.A." for short. They are also given a secondary sequential number by the chamber they are introduced in. Aforementioned numberings restart every three years after the formation of a new Congress.

=== United Kingdom ===

In the United Kingdom, for example, the [[Coroners and Justice Act 2009|Coroners and Justice Act]] in 2009 started as Bill 9 in the House of Commons. Then it became Bill 72 on consideration by a [[public bill committee]]; after that it became House of Lords Bill 33. Then it became House of Lords Bill 77, returned to the House of Commons as Bill 160, before finally being passed as Act 29.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2008-09/coronersandjustice.html |title=Coroners and Justice Bill 2008–09 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100213000956/http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2008-09/coronersandjustice.html |archive-date=13 February 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2009/pdf/ukpga_20090025_en.pdf |title=Coroners and Justice Act 2009 |publisher=Office of Public Sector Information |access-date=2010-03-23 |date=12 November 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100331165258/http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2009/pdf/ukpga_20090025_en.pdf| archive-date= 31 March 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref> Parliament recommences numbering from one at the beginning of each session. This means that two different bills may have the same number. Sessions of parliament usually last a year. They begin with the [[State Opening of Parliament]], and end with [[legislative session#Procedure in Commonwealth realms|prorogation]].

=== United States <span class="anchor" id="US Congress bill number"></span>===

In the United States, all bills originating in the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] are numbered sequentially and prefixed with "H.R." and all bills originating from the [[United States Senate|Senate]] begin with an "S.". Every two years, at the start of odd-numbered years, the [[United States Congress|Congress]] recommences numbering from 1, though for bills the House has an order reserving the first 20 bill numbers and the Senate has similar measures for the first 10 bills. Joint resolutions also have the same effect as bills, and are titled as "H. J. Res." or "S. J. Res." depending on whether they originated in the House or Senate, respectively.

This means that two different bills can have the same number. Each two-year span is called a ''congress'', tracking the terms of Representatives elected in the nationwide biennial House of Representatives elections, and each congress is divided into year-long periods called ''sessions''.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billsearch.xpd |title=GovTrack: Search Legislation in Congress |publisher=GovTrack.us |access-date=2009-03-30}}</ref>

==See also==

{{Portal|Politics|Law}}

* [[Act of Parliament]]

{{Wiktionary|enactment}}

* [[Enact]]

* [[Legislation]]

*[[List of legislatures by country]] ''(most legislature articles have information on their processes)''

*[[Resolution (law)]]

*[[White paper]]

*[[Bill (United States Congress)]]

*[[Procedures of the United States Congress]]

*[[Private bill]]

==References==

{{Reflist}}

==External links==

===Hong Kong===

*[http://www.legco.gov.hk/general/english/bc/bc_0408.htm Bills Committees of the Legislative Council]

===India===

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140909230437/http://lawmin.nic.in/coi/coiason29july08.pdf The Indian Constitution]

* [http://indiacode.nic.in/coiweb/welcome.html Government of India Laws]

===Ireland===

* [http://beta.oireachtas.ie/en/visit-and-learn/how-parliament-works/how-laws-are-made/ How laws are made]

* [http://beta.oireachtas.ie/en/bills/find-bills-and-acts/ Find bills and acts] (since 1922; partial)

* [http://www.oireachtas.ie/parliament/oireachtasbusiness/billslegislation/bills/ Bills] (since 1997; complete)

===New Zealand===

* [http://www.pco.parliament.govt.nz/terminology/#b1 Parliamentary Counsel Office—Terminology: What are Acts, Bills, regulations, and Supplementary Order Papers (SOPs)?]

* [http://www.legislation.govt.nz/bill/results.aspx?search=y_bill_All__bc%40bcur_an%40bn%40rn_200_a&p=1 List of current bills]

===United Kingdom===

*UK Parliament Guide: [http://www.parliament.uk/about/how/laws/passage-bill/ Passage of a Bill]

*BBC Parliament Guide:

**[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/bbc_parliament/2290085.stm Making new law]

**[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/bbc_parliament/2290403.stm Types of bill]

**[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/bbc_parliament/2295875.stm Bill procedure]

**[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/bbc_parliament/2297381.stm First reading]

**[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/bbc_parliament/2298827.stm Second reading]

**[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/bbc_parliament/2298941.stm Commons committee stage]

**[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/bbc_parliament/2300537.stm Lords committee stage]

**[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/bbc_parliament/2300667.stm Report stage]

**[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/bbc_parliament/2306475.stm Third reading]

**[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/bbc_parliament/2306571.stm Passage through the other House]

**[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/bbc_parliament/2327561.stm Royal assent]

**[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/bbc_parliament/2306919.stm Delegated legislation]

==External=United linkStates===

*[http://thomas.loc.gov/home/bills_res.html Bills, Resolutions] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100819190509/http://thomas.loc.gov/home/bills_res.html |date=19 August 2010 }} at [[THOMAS]]

*[http://www.ncleg.net/NCGAInfo/Bill-Law/bill-law.html How a law is made]. From the [[North Carolina]] General Assembly

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060426041416/http://www.vote-smart.org/resource_govt101_02.php Government 101: How a bill becomes a law] at [[Project Vote Smart]]

*[http://www.govtrack.us/congress/legislation.xpd Federal legislation] at [[GovTrack]]

*[http://www.ncleg.net/NCGAInfo/Bill-Law/bill-law.html How a law is made] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050711075856/http://www.ncleg.net/NCGAInfo/Bill-Law/bill-law.html |date=11 July 2005 }} at the [[North Carolina General Assembly]]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Law]]

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