St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1949-02-11
THE WEEK
Under Capitol
DONE
By Clifford Fucker

While bills with which the
readers Of this column are primar-
lily concerned rest in committees
of the Senate and House, we shall
discuss the procedure by which a
bill becomes a law in our State
Legislature
Most important proposed legis-
lation is prepared by request and
direction of the state administra-
ton. committees of the legisla-
ture or by groups interested in
some particular field. Usually
some member of the Attorney
Generals staff assists in the pre-
paraton and drafting of a bill to
assure proper legal form.
Bills may be introduced during
the first sixty legislative days by
regular procedure. After sixty
days and before the last twenty
days by a two-thirds vote of the
houses, or as committee bills, or
by request of the governor. During
the last twenty legislative days
they may be introduced only by
the request of the governor.
All bills must be introduced by a
member or members of the Legis-
lature and by attaching their
names to a bill members become
its authors" or sponsors. The
Senate limits the number of auth
ors to three; in the House the
number is unlimited and some
times enough signatures are OBJ
tanned to insure passage of a bill.
The bill is then referred to the
Speaker or Lieutenant Governor
in order that they may look it
over beforehand and decide to
which committee it should be re-
ferred. 1t then gets its first read
ing from the Speakers desk by
number, title, author.
Most bills automatically go to
certain committees, as for example
in the House, a bill to Great a new
highway would be referred to the
Committee on Public Highways,
a bill regarding taxes would be
sent to the Committee on Taxes
and Tax Laws. 1t is then consid-
cred by that particular committee
which may recommend that it
pass, pass as amended in commit
tee, be indefinitely postponed, re-
turned to its author, be passed
out without recommendation or it
may receive no action at all. Hear
ings are sometimes held on bills
thus giving the proponents an OPP
portunity to appear in behalf or
against a bill.
The bill is then given its second
reading from the Speakers desk,
Is printed and each legislator given
a copy. II an appropriation is in
volved, it must be acted upon by
the Appropriations Committee be-
fore given its second reading. 1t is
then given regular place on Cen
eral Orders. BY a two-thirds ap-
proval it can be placed on Special
Order for consideration at a speci-
fled time. The bill is then con-
sidered by the Committee of the
Whole House which includes the
entire membership of the House
and is period for informal dis
CussiOn and unlimited debate. It
may recommend that the bill be
advanced to the calendar" which
means that further discussion has
been psotphoned until the next
day. The House then accepts the
report of the Committee of the
Whole. Local, non-controversial
and urgent bills may receive con-
siderauon by means of a unani-
nous vote to suspend the rules.
The bill is now ready for its
third reading and final passage
By means of an electrical record
ing system the members vote Aye
or Nay. Bills introduced in one
branch usually have a companion
bill in the other and when one
house has passed the bill it may
then be substituted for the bill
pending before that house. If one
house amends a bill which is
passed by the other house it is
sent back to the original house to
concur in the amendment. A Con-
ference Committee from each
house then irons out the differ
ences and if each house accepts it,
the bill is then engrossed and
ready for the governors signature.
The Governor may sign it; refer
it back to the house with his OBJ
jectons, in which case a two
thirds vote of each house Is nee
essary TO override the veto. or if
he does not sign bill within three
days or fails to return it to the
house where it originated. it be-
comes a law, unless the legislature
by adjournment, prevents its re-
turn. This last procedure Is called
a pocket Veto.
Thus the progress of a bill in
our state legislature. OF the sever
al thousands OF bills presented,
only a relatively few survive and
become law.