How the legislative process works

Thousands of bills are introduced during each session of the N.C. General Assembly, but only a few hundred typically make it through the legislative process.

You probably learned the basic process of how a bill becomes a law in school, but here's a refresher course.

The N.C. General Assembly meets annually - the so-called long session is held in odd-numbered years and generally lasts from January until some time in the summer (although some sessions may last much longer). This is the session where the biennial or two-year state budget is adopted, and legislation on any issue may be introduced.

In even-numbered years, the so-called short session is held, usually beginning in May and ending in the late summer (although, again, some have lasted much longer). It is really a continuation of the previous year's session. A major purpose of this session is to make adjustments to the state budget. The types of bills that may be considered during a short session are limited, and are established by a resolution when the General Assembly adjourned the previous year's session.

Much of the work on a bill is done outside of the formal, daily sessions of the House and Senate. Legislators work with the bill drafting staff, representatives of state departments and agencies, and others to draw up the provisions of the bill.

A bill is introduced in the House or Senate - this is called first reading - and referred to one of the body's committees, which are organized by issue areas. Lots of the debate, discussion and rewriting of a bill takes place at the committee level.

Interested citizens and representatives of organizations such as the League may be allowed to testify about a bill before a committee or answer questions from committee members.

The committee chair determines the agenda for the committee and plays a key role in determining when and if bills will be discussed and voted on.

A committee usually gives a favorable or unfavorable report to a bill, meaning it votes to recommend passage (favorable) or not recommend (unfavorable) passage. The House or Senate may re-refer a bill to a second or even a third committee. Many bills, because of costs associated with the proposed legislation, must go to a finance committee.

After the bill has gone through the committee process, it goes the House or Senate floor. The full body discusses and votes on the bill at this time; this is known as second reading.

If the bill passes second reading, another vote or third reading must be held. Sometimes this can be done on the same day, but appropriations and tax bills must pass on two separate days.

This is how a bill goes through one body - either the House or Senate. Then the same process happens in the other body. Often, the two bodies pass different versions of a bill. If one body does not agree to accept the other's version, a conference committee is appointed.

A conference committee includes members from both the House and Senate, and the committee works out a compromise between the two versions. Both bodies must then concur on the conference committee's recommendation, and the bill is enacted.

The very final step is the governor's signature. The governor may veto a bill, and the General Assembly may override this veto by a two-thirds vote of both the House and the Senate. North Carolina governors have had veto power only in recent years, and very few bills have been vetoed.

How an idea becomes a law can be found at: www.ncleg.net/ncgainfo/bill-law/bill-law.pdf

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