How a Bill Becomes Law.........
To be introduced, the good idea must first be put in legal form-a legislative bill. People, namely lawyers, are employed in the Revisor's Office to write bills and amendments to bills.
Bills can have from one to five authors and can be introduced (read for the first time) only on a day when the House or Senate is in session.
A bill must pass both the House and Senate to become a law. Since House members outnumber Senate members, House members have to work with Senators if they want to get their bills moving in the legislative process. Having the right authors on the bill is an important factor. Other factors, such as a DFL-Republican balance, a geographic balance, and key players from the right committees all enter into the decision about who will author the bill.
Once introduced, and depending on the subject matter, a bill is referred to a policy, finance, or tax committee, and the chief author is required to ask the chair of the committee, in writing, for a hearing. Many bills do not get hearings due to committee time constraints, as well as political reasons, and some get referred to a subcommittee for the first hearing. When and if a bill gets scheduled for a hearing, the authoring legislator(s) needs to be talking with members of the committee prior to the hearing. This is a time-consuming process since House committees can have up to 35 members, and Senate committees average 15 members. Lobbyists help in this effort.
Like you see on TV or CSPAN, committee hearings are very official. An agenda is used and the chairperson controls the action. The media may be there along with other interested people.
The chief author presents the bill and calls witnesses to testify for the bill. Persons opposed to the bill, or parts of it, are also allowed to testify. This process can last from several minutes to several hours. Committee members ask questions, offer amendments, and finally vote to pass or not pass a bill out of committee. Sometimes the bill will be tabled to another day if it needs to be.
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 A Fun Way To Teach Kids!
The book 'House Mouse, Senate Mouse' teaches children about our nation's Capitol and how our laws are made, from the research of a bill, through the signing at the President's desk. Written and illustrated by Peter and Cheryl Barnes.
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