What you need to know about how a bill becomes a law

First published in Landings, May, 2015.

You wouldn’t be blamed if you admitted to finding the legislative process somewhat confusing. Cloture, amendments, public hearings and work sessions — it all seems like a complicated mess. But, if you take a closer look, it’s clear that the process is in fact very orderly, if time consuming. Understanding how the state Legislature works is important for Maine’s fishermen, who often face a bewildering array of proposed laws whenever the Legislature is in session in Augusta.

Where does a bill come from? 

A local House Representative or Senator may come up with an idea for a bill on his or her own, or be asked to propose a bill by a constituent, an interest group, a public official or the Governor. Other legislators may be asked to sign on as co-sponsors of that bill. A state agency may also submit ideas for a bill, but it must be approved by the Governor’s office, and be sponsored by a member of the Legislature.

How does a bill take shape? 

There is a deadline by which time bills must be submitted. That deadline is called cloture. State agencies are generally required to submit their ideas for bills a few months before elected officials submit their own ideas. During the First Regular Session of the Legislature, which is the session immediately following the election, any type of bill may be submitted prior to cloture. For the Second Regular Session of the Legislature, the range of bills is primarily limited to emergency legislation and budgetary matters. In either session, bills may only be submitted after the cloture deadline upon approval by the Legislative Council. When a request for a bill, which is generally only the bill title, is filed, it is given a Legislative Reference (L.R.) number.

With the idea in mind, the legislator submits a bill title, crafted in a manner that describes the intent of the bill. The title then goes to the Revisor’s Office and to the Legislature’s Office of Policy and Legal Analysis staff for assistance in drafting the bill in proper technical form.

Where does a bill go once it is printed? 

Once the bill is actually written and then printed, the legislator gives the bill to the Clerk of the House or Secretary of the Senate. The Secretary and Clerk suggest the committee to which the bill should be referred and assign the bill an L.D. number. Bills are usually identified and referred to throughout the rest of the session by their L.D. numbers.

Both the House and Senate must agree on the Joint Standing Committee of reference. If the House and Senate cannot agree on which committee will hear the bill, that piece of legislation can go no further in the process.

What happens at the Committee? 

The bills are then reviewed, analyzed, discussed and voted on by the legislative committee which makes a recommendation back to the full Legislature. To begin this process, the Committee holds a public hearing on the bill to allow the public to present testimony in support of, in opposition to, or neither for nor against the proposed legislation. Notices of public hearings are printed in newspapers with statewide distribution and listed on the Legislature’s website. Members of the public can request to be placed on the committee’s interested parties list to receive weekly emails with a summary of the Committee’s upcoming schedule. Most lobster and other marine resource related bills are referred to the Joint Standing Committee on Marine Resources.

The public hearing always begins with the legislative sponsor presenting the bill in order to explain the purpose of the bill. The Committee then requests testimony from co-sponsors before the hearing is open for the public to present their views. Customarily, the Committee will first ask for testimony from proponents, followed by opponents, then finally those people who are neither for nor against the bill. At the conclusion of a person’s testimony, committee members can ask questions.

The committee’s formal deliberation and action on a bill happens during a work session. Work sessions are open to the public so that they may hear the Committee deliberate on the bill. Work sessions are not intended for public comment, though individuals may be invited by the committee to answer questions or help the committee further address or amend the bill. Amendments are suggested changes to the bill, which may clarify, restrict, expand or otherwise modify or correct it.

During the work session, the committee votes on the bill. The Committee issues a report reflecting its recommendation on the bill as either ought to pass (with possible amendments), ought not to pass or referral to another committee.

A unanimous report means all committee members agree. If committee members disagree, they may issue a divided report, which includes the opinion of both the majority and the minority members on the bill. Prior to reporting out a bill, the committee must determine whether the bill will have a fiscal impact which is determined by the Office of Fiscal and Program Review.

What happens after a bill leaves the committee? 

If the Committee report is unanimous ought not to pass, then the bill is considered dead upon notification of both chambers.

Other bills are referred back to the chamber in which it originated (House or Senate). There it receives its first reading. The next legislative day the bill is given its second reading and floor amendments may be offered. After one chamber, for example, the House, has passed the bill, it is sent to the other (the Senate) for similar review and voting. If the second chamber amends the bill, it is returned to the first chamber for a vote on the changes. It may then be sent to a conference committee to work out a compromise agreeable to both chambers. A bill receives final legislative approval when it passes both chambers in identical form.

A legislator may delay the progress of a bill by making a motion to table the bill until some other time. A legislator who strongly opposes a bill may make a motion for indefinite postponement. If the motion to indefinitely postpone is approved, the bill is defeated.

Then what?

After the debating and amending processes are completed, a vote is taken in both chambers to pass the measure to be engrossed. Engrossing means printing the bill and all adopted amendments together in one document for enactment. Bills to be engrossed are prepared by the Revisor’s Office and sent to the House and then the Senate for final enactment.

All bills must be considered for final enactment first in the House and then in the Senate. The necessary vote for enactment is usually a simple majority. However, emergency bills and Constitutional amendments require a two-thirds vote of those present. After a bill is enacted by both the House and the Senate, it is sent to the Governor. If it fails enactment in either chamber it goes no further in the process.

What is the Governor’s role? 

The Governor has ten days in which to sign or veto a bill that has been enacted. If the Governor does not sign the bill and the Legislature is still in session, after ten days the bill becomes law without the Governor’s signature. If the Legislature has adjourned for the year the bill does not become law. This is called a pocket veto. If the Legislature comes back into special session, the Governor must deliver a veto message on the fourth day of that session to the originating chamber or the bill becomes law.

Once past the Governor’s desk, a bill becomes law 90 days after the end of the legislative session. Emergency legislation goes into effect immediately upon the Governor’s signing. If a bill is vetoed by the Governor, it will become law if the Legislature overrides the veto by a two-thirds vote of those members in both chambers present and voting.

What happens after that? 

Many Maine laws authorize state agencies to adopt rules in order to fully implement a law. These rules must be adopted in accordance with the Maine Administrative Procedures Act (the APA). This Act requires, among other things, public and legislative notice of rulemaking. Once properly adopted, rules have the effect of law.