With the new session starting in Indiana’s State House, senators and representatives are drafting bills that will potentially become laws.
However, the process may take months to vote on bills. According to the Indiana Statehouse Tour Office and Education Center, there are a few steps a bill must take before it becomes a law.
Step 1: A senator or a representative has to write and propose the bill to the House.
Step 2: After reading the bill, it will be placed in a committee. According to the U.S. Senate website, “Committees monitor on-going governmental operations, identify issues suitable for legislative review, gather and evaluate information, and recommend courses of action to the Senate.” The committee will review the bill to see what improvements can be made or how to better align the bill with their party.
The committee then has one rule: They can’t kill the bill. During this time, the committee holds debates to determine if the bill should be passed and sent to the House. If the bill does not pass the Senate, it “dies.” The Library of Congress defines a bill dying as “a bill from any Congress does not become law during the Congress in which it is introduced, it is considered ‘dead.’”
Step 3: The committee then presents the bill to the House or the Senate where three readings take place. The first reading presents the bill, and the second reading allows the opposite side of the House and senators to suggest amendments if they want to change the bill. The final reading is where both houses debate the bill. If there are amendments, the original house can fix the bill and revote it.
Step 4: Once the bill is approved, it gets sent to the state governor. The governor can approve, veto or take no action. If the governor vetoes it, the bill dies. If he approves of it, he can sign it into law. If no action is taken, the bill still becomes law but without a signature.
Step 5: The bill is no longer a bill but rather a law.
Contact Shelby Anderson via email at sanderson9@bsu.edu.
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