how a bill becomes law in colorado
TRANSCRIPT
Introducing a bill
Bills are introduced by legislators
A bill can be introduced in the Colorado House or the Colorado Senate
In the House …
Introduction First reading by
the House clerk Assigned to
committee by speaker of the House
You can search for, and look up the status of a bill here:
http://www.leg.state.co.us/Clics/CLICS2009A/csl.nsf/BillFoldersHouse?openFrameset
House Committees
Agriculture, Livestock, and Natural Resources
Appropriations Business Affairs and
Labor Education Health and Human
Services
Judiciary Local Government State, Veterans,
and Military Affairs Transportation and
Energy
You can find House Committee Membership Here:http://www.leg.state.co.us/clics/clics2009a/directory.nsf/HouCommWp?OpenView
You can find Bills by Committee Here (Click on “By Committee” on the lower line)http://www.leg.state.co.us/Clics/CLICS2009A/csl.nsf/BillFoldersCom?OpenFrameSet
In Committee
Committee hearing Public and Expert
Testimony Amendments may
be offered A passing vote
from the Committee sends the bill back to the House
Committees publish their calendars here:http://www.leg.state.co.us/Clics/CLICS2009A/csl.nsf/Calendars?OpenFrameSet
You can listen to committee hearings on a bill here:http://www.leg.state.co.us/clics/clics2009a/cslFrontPages.nsf/Audio?OpenForm
Back on the House Floor
Committee reports offered (committees report on the status of a bill that was assigned to it)
House floor and second reading (may include debate and additional amendments)
House floor and third reading final passage
On to the Senate… Introduction First reading by the Senate
clerk Assigned to committee by
Senate President Committee hearing (may
contain any amendments) Committee reports offered Senate floor and second
reading (may include debate and additional amendments)
Senate floor and third reading final passage (without any additional amendments)
Senate Committees
Agriculture and Natural Resources
Appropriations Business, Labor,
and Technology Education Finance
Health and Human Services
Judiciary Local Government
and Energy State, Veterans,
and Military Affairs
Transportation
Decision Time
If a bill passes the Senate without amendments, it goes to the Governor
Otherwise, it goes to Conference Committee.
Conference Committee A conference committee
is composed of 3 members from each house, meeting to work out language acceptable to both houses on a bill that passed each house in different forms.
A majority of the members of the committee must agree before the Conference Committee Report may be submitted to the Senate and House
The bill then returns to each house for a final up-or-down vote
If a bill requires appropriations…
Legislative Legal Services, the non-partisan research staff of the Legislature, analyzes a bill to determine it effect on the state’s spending or revenues
Any bill that would require funding (or would reduce revenue without reducing spending) if implemented is sent to the Appropriations Committee as part of the process.
In the Appropriations Committee an appropriation clause is added to the bill that includes the amount of funding required.
The Governor Once passed by the
House or Senate, the bill becomes Colorado law when signed by the governor.
If the governor fails to sign a bill within 10 days upon receiving a bill while the General Assembly is in session or within 30 days if the General Assembly is adjourned, the bill becomes Colorado law.
If the governor vetoes …
If vetoed, the governor sends a veto message to the General Assembly
If the General Assembly decides to override the governor's veto, it must have two-thirds votes of all members from both the House and Senate.
The People
May approve Constitutional amendments and statutory changes proposed by the legislature (Referenda)
May approve Constitutional amendments and statutory changes placed on the ballot by petition (Initiatives)
People have the right to review all laws passed by the legislature, unless…
The law has a clause, known as, “The Safety Clause,” that this law is necessary for the public safety.
As a result, most laws now contain the Safety Clause