Why must the two houses of Congress agree on a common version of the bill

This fact sheet explains the law-making process in the Australian Parliament. It also describes where ideas for laws come from and the history of law-making in the Parliament.

Laws are formal rules which society uses to define how people and organisations are expected to behave. Section 51 of the Australian Constitution gives the Australian Parliament the power to make laws in relation to certain matters. In Parliament, a bill is a proposal for a new law or a change to an existing one. Bills often seek to address an important issue facing the Australian community.

Path of a bill

A bill can only become a law if it is passed by a majority vote in the Senate and the House of Representatives. The bill must be agreed to in identical form by both the Senate and House, and given Royal Assent by the Governor-General. It is then known as an Act of Parliament. An Act specifies the date on which the new law will commence. Often this is the day after it receives Royal Assent.

Most bills are introduced into the House of Representatives and then sent to the Senate. Bills may start in the Senate, except for money and taxation bills. Most bills are introduced by government ministers; however, other members of parliament can introduce their own bills, known as private members' or private senators' bills.

It may take months or even years for a bill to pass through Parliament. However, an urgent bill can be passed in a matter of hours or days. Well over 100 bills are introduced into Parliament each year and about 90 per cent of government bills are passed into law.

Origins of bills

Bills can start in different ways:

• A government department may advise its minister about a specific problem that exists. The minister may then arrange for a bill to be drafted to fix the problem.
• Community groups, businesses or lobby groups may be interested in changing or improving a specific area of Australian law. They can approach members of parliament with suggestions for bills.
• Political parties have their own ideas about how Australia should be governed. In Parliament, parties introduce bills which aim to put their ideas into action.
• The Parliament can set up a parliamentary committee to examine a current issue. If the issue requires action, the committee may suggest that a bill be introduced.

History

The law-making process used in the Australian Parliament comes from the practices of the British Parliament, developed over many centuries. The word ‘bill’ probably comes from the Latin word bulla, meaning ‘seal’. In medieval times, seals were put on documents written by a king or person in authority. During the 16th century in England, the word ‘bill’ came to mean a draft for an Act of Parliament.

The practice of the Clerk reading the bill aloud 3 times dates back to the early British Parliament, before printing was invented and many people could read. The Clerk had to read the bill aloud so that members of parliament knew what the bill was about. Today bills still go through 3 ‘readings’ but the Clerk only reads the title of the bill.

Parliamentary Education Office (peo.gov.au)

This diagram illustrates the usual path of a bill through the Australian Parliament to become Australian law.

In the House of Representatives a bill goes through the following stages:

• 1st reading—the bill is introduced to the House of Representatives.
• 2nd reading—members debate and vote on the main idea of the bill.
• House committee (optional stage)—public inquiry into the bill and reporting back to the House.
• Consideration in detail (optional stage)—members discuss the bill in detail, including any changes to the bill.
• 3rd reading—members vote on the bill in its final form.

The bill is passed in the House of Representatives and sent to the Senate.

Senate referral—the Senate may refer the text of the bill to a Senate committee for inquiry (this can happen while the bill is in the House).

In the Senate a bill goes through the following stages:

• 1st reading—the bill is introduced to the Senate.
• 2nd reading—senators debate and vote on the main idea of the bill.
• Senate committee (optional stage)—public inquiry into the bill and reporting back to the Senate.
• Committee of the whole (optional stage)—senators discuss the bill in detail, including any changes to the bill.
• 3rd reading—senators vote on the bill in its final form.
• The bill is passed in the Senate.

The bill is given Royal Assent—The Governor-General signs the bill.

The bill becomes an Act of Parliament—a law for Australia.

Parliamentary Education Office (peo.gov.au)

This image shows the different sections of a bill. The top third shows the bill title and year. The middle third shows an excerpt from bill clauses and sub-clauses. The bottom third shows excerpts from bill definitions.

Parliamentary Education Office (peo.gov.au)

This diagram illustrates the role of executive government in turning policy into law.

1. The executive government decides policy then drafts and introduces bills to the Parliament.

2. Bills are considered by the Parliament.

3. If passed by the Parliament, the bills are approved by the Governor-General.

4. Bills become Acts of Parliament and therefore laws, which are administered by government departments.

Article I of the U.S. Constitution grants all legislative powers to a bicameral Congress: a House of Representatives and a Senate that are the result of a “Great Compromise” seeking to balance the effects of popular majorities with the interests of the states. Our system currently provides for a two-year term of office for House members from the 435 population-based districts. In the Senate, voters of each state elect two Senators, who serve 6-year terms that overlap (such that only one-third of the chamber is up for election in any given election cycle).

The two chambers are fundamentally equal in their legislative roles and functions. Only the House can originate revenue legislation, and only the Senate confirms presidential nominations and approves treaties, but the enactment of law always requires both chambers to separately agree to the same bill in the same form before presenting it to the President.

Because each chamber has the constitutional authority to make its own rules, the House and Senate have developed some very different ways of processing legislation, perhaps partially flowing from their constitutional differences. In general, House rules and practices allow a numerical majority to process legislation relatively quickly. Senate rules and procedures, on the other hand, favor deliberation over quick action, as they provide significant procedural leverage to individual Senators.

Congressional action is typically planned and coordinated by party leaders in each chamber, who have been chosen by members of their own caucus or conference – that is, the group of members in a chamber who share a party affiliation. Majority party leaders in the House have important powers and prerogatives to effectively set the policy agenda and decide which proposals will receive floor consideration. In the Senate, the leader of the majority party is generally expected to propose items for consideration, but formal tools that allow a numerical majority to take action are few. Instead, majority party leadership typically must negotiate with minority party leaders (and often all Senators) to effectively conduct Senate floor action.

In both chambers, much of the policy expertise resides in the standing committees – panels of members from both parties that typically take the lead in developing and assessing legislation. Members typically serve on a small number of committees, often for many years, allowing them to become highly knowledgeable in certain policy areas. All committees are chaired by a member of the majority party, though chairs often work closely with the committee’s ranking member, the most senior member of the minority party on the committee. In almost all cases, the ratio of majority party to minority party members on a committee roughly reflects the overall partisan ratio in the congressional chamber.

Committee members and staff focus much of their time on drafting and considering legislative proposals, but committees engage in other activities, as well. Once law is enacted, Congress has the prerogative and responsibility to provide oversight of policy implementation, and its committees take the lead in this effort. Both chambers provide their committees with significant powers and latitude for oversight and investigations into questions of public policy and its effects.

While the engine of legislative ideas and action is Congress itself, the President has influence in the legislative process, as well. The President recommends an annual budget for federal agencies and often suggests legislation. Perhaps more significantly, the power to veto legislation can affect the content of bills passed by Congress. Since it is quite unusual for law to be enacted over a presidential veto, Congress typically must accommodate the president’s position on proposed policies.

The process by which a bill becomes law is rarely predictable and can vary significantly from bill to bill. In fact, for many bills, the process will not follow the sequence of congressional stages that are often understood to make up the legislative process. The presentations on specific topics that follow present a more detailed look at each of the common stages through which a bill may move, but keep in mind that complications and variations abound in practice.