I. Introduction

Basic rules guide the movement of legislation in the Rhode Island General Assembly. Although these rules may vary somewhat from session to session, and although certain exceptions are permitted, bills generally must follow a certain prescribed course through both houses of the legislature to be enacted into law. The following outline of the course of legislation is offered for your assistance.

II. Course of Legislative Measures Through the General Assembly

  1. Any Representative or Senator may introduce a bill in his or her respective house.
  2. The Recording Secretary numbers a bill introduced in the House of Representatives. The Secretary of the Senate numbers a bill introduced in the Senate.
  3. The Speaker of the House or the President of the Senate refers the bill to the proper committee.
  4. A House or Senate Committee may take the following action on a bill:
    1. Recommendation of passage as introduced;
    2. Recommendation of passage with amendments;
    3. Recommendation of passage of a substitute;
    4. Recommendation of reference to another committee;
    5. Recommendation of indefinite postponement;
    6. Reporting the bill to the floor and giving no recommendation, in which case it stands or falls on its own merit
  5. A bill goes on the calendar when a given committee makes a recommendation of passage. Under the existing rules of the Senate and House, all “Public Bills” are reproduced with a short explanation attached thereto, for distribution to the members of the legislature.
  6. After passage, in either the House or the Senate, the bill is transmitted to the other house where it will follow the same procedure.
  7. Upon passage in concurrence by the second house, a bill is forwarded to the Governor.

III. Actions of Legislation Taken by the Chief Executive

  1. The Governor may sign and approve a bill. It is then returned to the Secretary of State, who notifies the branch of origin of the bill’s passage into law.
  2. The Governor may veto a bill and return it to the branch of origin. If three-fifths (3/5) of the members present and voting (by roll call vote) approve the bill in both houses, it becomes law, the Governor’s veto not withstanding.
  3. The Governor may allow a bill to become law without his signature. If the General Assembly is in session, he transmits the bill without his signature to the Secretary of State following the sixth day (Sunday excepted) that the measure has been presented to him. If the General Assembly has adjourned, the act becomes law unless it has been transmitted by the Governor to the Secretary of State with his disapproval in writing within ten (10) days after adjournment.
  4. By statute (Section 43-3-25 as amended) every statute which does not expressly prescribe the time it shall go into operation shall take effect on the first day of July of the calendar year of its enactment into law by the General Assembly.

How a Federal Bill Becomes a Law

A bill becomes a law when both the House and Senate agree to it by majority vote and the President signs it.  If the President objects to it and vetoes it, the Congress can override that veto with a two-thirds vote in both chambers and the bill will become law without his signature.

While the House and Senate are both needed to make a law, the two chambers have slightly different powers.  All revenue bills (tax bills, mostly) must originate in the House.  Treaties and appointments (ambassadors, department secretaries, and others) must be agreed to by the Senate, but the House has no say.

Forms of Congressional Action

The work of Congress is initiated by the introduction of a proposal in one of four principal forms: the bill, the joint resolution, the concurrent resolution, and the simple resolution.

Bills

A bill is the form used for most legislation, whether permanent or temporary, general or special, public or private. A bill originating in the House of Representatives is designated by the letters “H.R.,” signifying “House of Representatives,” followed by a number that it retains throughout all its parliamentary stages. Bills are presented to the President for action when approved in identical form by both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Joint Resolutions

Joint resolutions may originate in either the House of Representatives or the Senate. There is little practical difference between a bill and a joint resolution. Both are subject to the same procedure, except for a joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution. On approval of such a resolution by two-thirds of both the House and Senate, it is sent directly to the Administrator of General Services for submission to the individual states for ratification. It is not presented to the President for approval. A joint resolution originating in the House of Representatives is designated “H.J.Res.” followed by its individual number. Joint resolutions become law in the same manner as bills.

Concurrent Resolutions

Matters affecting the operations of both the House of Representatives and the Senate are usually initiated by means of concurrent resolutions. A concurrent resolution originating in the House of Representatives is designated “H.Con.Res.” followed by its individual number. On approval by both the House of Representatives and Senate, concurrent resolutions are signed by the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate. They are not presented to the President for action.

Simple Resolutions

A matter concerning the operation of either the House of Representatives or Senate alone is initiated by a simple resolution. A resolution affecting the House of Representatives is designated “H.Res.” followed by its number. They are not presented to the President for action.

Introduction and Referral to Committee

Any Member in the House of Representatives may introduce a bill at any time while the House is in session by simply placing it in the “hopper” provided for the purpose at the side of the Clerk’s desk in the House Chamber. The sponsor’s signature must appear on the bill. A public bill may have an unlimited number of co-sponsoring Members. The bill is assigned its legislative number by the Clerk and referred to the appropriate committee by the Speaker, with the assistance of the Parliamentarian. The bill is then printed in its introduced form.

An important phase of the legislative process is the action taken by committees. It is during committee action that the most intense consideration is given to the proposed measures; this is also the time when the people are given their opportunity to be heard. Each piece of legislation is referred to the committee that has jurisdiction over the area affected by the measure.

Consideration by Committee

Public Hearings and Markup Sessions

Usually the first step in this process is a public hearing, where the committee members hear witnesses representing various viewpoints on the measure. Each committee makes public the date, place, and subject of any hearing it conducts.

A transcript of the testimony taken at a hearing is made available for inspection in the committee office, and frequently the complete transcript is printed and distributed by the committee.

After hearings are completed, the bill is considered in a session that is popularly known as the “mark-up” session. Members of the committee study the viewpoints presented in detail. Amendments may be offered to the bill, and the committee members vote to accept or reject these changes. This process can take place at either the subcommittee level or the full committee level, or at both.

Committee Action

At the conclusion of deliberation, a vote of committee or subcommittee Members is taken to determine what action to take on the measure. It can be reported, with or without amendment, or tabled, which means no further action on it will occur. If the committee has approved extensive amendments, they may decide to report a new bill incorporating all the amendments. This is known as a “clean bill,” which will have a new number. Votes in committee can be found in Committee Votes.

If the committee votes to report a bill, the Committee Report is written. This report describes the purpose and scope of the measure and the reasons for recommended approval. House Report numbers are prefixed with “H.Rpt.” and then a number indicating the Congress (currently 107).

House Floor Consideration

Consideration of a measure by the full House can be a simple or very complex operation. In general, a measure is ready for consideration by the full House after it has been reported by a committee. Under certain circumstances, it may be brought to the Floor directly.

The consideration of a measure may be governed by a “rule.” A rule is itself a simple resolution, which must be passed by the House, that sets out the particulars of debate for a specific bill — how much time will allowed for debate, whether amendments can be offered, and other matters.

Debate time for a measure is normally divided between proponents and opponents. Each side yields time to those Members who wish to speak on the bill. When amendments are offered, these are also debated and voted upon.

After all debate is concluded and amendments decided upon, the House is ready to vote on final passage. In some cases, a vote to “recommit” the bill to committee is requested. This is usually an effort by opponents to change some portion or table the measure. If the attempt to recommit fails, a vote on final passage is ordered.

Resolving Differences

After a measure passes in the House, it goes to the Senate for consideration. A bill must pass both bodies in the same form before it can be presented to the President for signature into law.

If the Senate changes the language of the measure, it must return to the House for concurrence or additional changes. This back-and-forth negotiation may occur on the House floor, with the House accepting or rejecting Senate amendments or complete Senate text. Often a conference committee will be appointed with both House and Senate members. This group will resolve the differences in committee and report the identical measure back to both bodies for a vote. Conference committees also issue reports outlining the final version of the bill.

Final Step

Votes on final passage, as well as all other votes in the House, may be taken by the electronic voting system that registers each individual Member’s response. These votes are referred to as Yea/Nay votes or recorded votes and are available in House Votes by Bill number, roll call vote number or words describing the reason for the vote.

Votes in the House may also be by voice vote, and no record of individual responses is available.

After a measure has been passed in identical form by both the House and Senate, it is considered “enrolled.” It is sent to the President, who may sign the measure into law, veto it and return it to Congress, let it become law without signature, or at the end of a session, pocket-veto it.