How A Bill Becomes A Law
The Legislature
The Kansas Legislature convenes each year on the second Monday of January. There are 40 senators and 125 state representatives. Both chambers are located on the third floor of the Kansas Capitol. The Senate is located on the east wing and the House of Representatives is located in the west wing. Each chamber has a visitors' gallery which can be entered from the fourth floor. Seating in the gallery is limited, so a visitor should generally plan to arrive well before a session is to begin (usually 11:00 a.m. in the House; 2:00 p.m. in the Senate).
Introduction of a Bill
Only senators and representatives or committees of the respective houses may introduce bills, and they often do so at the request of constituents. After being introduced, bills are sent to the State Printer so that all legislators and interested citizens may have copies by the next day. A copy of the previous day's journal, the current day's calendar and printed bills may be obtained from the legislative document room.
Committee Action
After a bill is printed, it is assigned to an appropriate committee for study and recommendation. The committee then makes a recommendation to the whole house to "pass" or "not to pass" the bill. The committee can also propose amendments to a bill, so it may recommend that a bill be passed as amended. Committee recommendations are very important to the legislators when they decide whether to vote for or against passage of a bill.
Since committees must meet while the houses are not in session, the legislator's work day may begin as early as 8:00 a.m. with a committee meeting, and he or she may be busy until 6:00 or 7:00 p.m. with other committee meetings.
All committee meetings are open to the public, news reports, and other interested persons. Most committees meet in rooms on the fifth floor of the Capitol A visit to the legislature should include watching one fo the committees at work. Any citizen can be heard on a hill while it is being considered in commitee by asking the chairman for a hearing.
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General Orders
The most dramatic public appearance of a bill on the floor of the House or Senate is its discussion by the entire body after it has been returned with a committee recommendation. Bills listed on the calendar under "General Orders" will be discussed by the whole House or Senate sitting as a "Committee of the Whole." At this time, the bill is usually recommended for passage or defeat.
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Final Action
The next day, if the bill has been reported for passage, it will be listed under "Bills on Final Action" and voted on. A bill must receive a constitutional majority to pass. This requires 63 votes in the House and 21 votes in the Senate. Senators vote by voice when their names are called. Representatives use electronic voting equipment.
Each legislator has ample opportunity to read the contents of abill before he or she votes on it. Visitors are often puzzled by the obvious inattention on the part of the senators and representatives while bills are being read, but it is safe to assume that each legislator will be familiar with each bill on which he or she votes.
After passing in the first house, the bill is sent to the second house where the same procedure bevins again, i.e., reading, assignment to the appropriate committee, back to the floor on "General Orders" for debate by the entire body and then passage or defeat on final action. When a bill passes the second house in a form different from the way the first house approved it, the first house must agree to change or a Conference Committee is appointed to work out the differences. Conference Committee reports must be approved by both houses before the bill can be sent to the Governor for signature or veto.
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Provided by the Kansas Legislative Research Department
