HOW
A BILL BECOMES A LAW IN NEW YORK STATE
STEP 1:
THE IDEA
The idea for a bill can come from several sources: legislators and their
staffs, the governor and his staff or departments (program bills), individuals,
lobbyists and interest groups, or it could be a bill from a previous session
that failed to become a law.
STEP 2:
SPONSORSHIP
A bill must have a sponsor in order to be introduced. Legislators, the Governor
and the Attorney General can sponsor legislation, When the idea for a bill
originates outside of these parties, then a sponsor must be found. For example,
a lobbyist with an idea for a bill must circulate it among legislators in
order to find a sponsor.
STEP 3:
BILL DRAFTING
The legislative sponsor submits the concept for a bill, sometimes with desired
language, to the LBDC. LBDC's Legal Services Unit drafts the bill, making
sure that it is in the proper form and that the content reflects the sponsor's
intentions. The LBDC assigns a number for internal tracking purposes and
returns the bill draft to the sponsor. The prime sponsor may circulate the
bill draft among colleagues in order to find additional sponsors.
STEP 4:
INTRODUCTION
The bill draft is presented to the Index Office where it is assigned a bill
number and printed. Once a bill has been introduced, the LBDC makes information
about the bill — bill text, summary, sponsor's memo, etc. — available
on LRS. The journal clerk of each house makes hard copies of bills available
to anyone who wants them at their respective document rooms on the third
floor of the Capitol.
STEP 5:
COMMITTEE ACTIONS
Once a bill is introduced, house leadership refers it to the appropriate
committees for review, discussion, revision (see Step 5A) and ultimately,
approval or disapproval. The staffs of the standing committees in each house
evaluate the ramifications of a bill and decide wether it should be approved
with or without revisions. Committee agendas as well as committee actions
can be accessed on LRS.
STEP 5A:
REVISION
As a bill makes its way through one or more committees, committees may want
changes. When a bill changes, it is called an amendment. Each time a bill
is amended, it must go back through the Legislative Bill Drafting Commission
where it is proofread and the appropriate form and content maintained. A
bill can be amended an unlimited number of times by each committee through
which it must pass. Amendments are indicated by a letter after the bill
number. S.180-A, for example, indicates the first amendment to Senate Bill
180; S.180-D would be the fourth amendment and the fifth version of that
bill; etc. If a bill makes it through all of the appropriate committees,
then it is "reported out" to the floor of the house for a vote.
If a committee does not report out a bill to the floor, then it is said
to have "died" in committee.
STEP 5B:
SENATE FINANCE — ASSEMBLY WAYS & MEANS
Any bill that requires an expenditure of state funds must go to the Assembly
Ways & Means Committee or the Senate Finance Committee.
STEP 5C:
THE RULES COMMITTEE(S)
The Majority Leader of the Senate is the chair of the Senate Rules Committee
and the Assembly Speaker chairs the Assembly Rules Committee. Therefore,
these committees play a significant role in the flow of legislation. They
are especially influential near the end of a legislative session when all
bills get referred to Rules.
STEP 6:
FLOOR VOTE
A bill that is reported out of each committee to which it was assigned in
a particular house is put to a floor vote before the entire house. If a
bill passes the floor vote in the first house and passes the floor vote
in the other house where it also has been scrutinized in committee(s), then
it will be sent to the Governor (see Step 7). Failure to pass a floor vote
in either house means the bill will not go to the Governor. Generally, it
is prior to a floor vote that a bill is debated before the entire house.
The public can observe floor debates from the gallery overlooking each chamber.
Floor calendars can be accessed on LRS.
STEP 7:
THE GOVERNOR
When a bill has passed both houses, it is delivered to the Governor. The
Governor may approve of a bill and sign it, or he may disapprove and veto
the bill. The Governor's approval and veto messages can be seen on LRS.
STEP 7A:
VETO
If the Governor vetoes a bill, he stops it from becoming law. Often, a bill
that was vetoed or otherwise failed to become a law will be reintroduced
in a subsequent session. A Governor's veto can be overridden by a two-thirds
majority vote in each house.
STEP 8:
A BILL BECOMES A LAW
A bill becomes a law when the governor signs it. As bills become laws, they
are assigned chapter numbers for the particular session in which they were
passed (such as, Chapter 17 of the Laws of 1995), known as "session
chapters." "Session Chapters" should not be confused with
"chapters" as that term applies to consolidated law. Most New
York State laws are organized or consolidated into subject areas called
chapters such as Labor and Insurance. Currently, there are approximately
90 chapters of consolidated law in New York State.
Laws that do
not fit within any of the consolidated law chapters such as the Local Emergency
Housing Rent Control Act of 1962 are called unconsolidated laws.
July 2000
