Ron Richard: How a bill becomes a law

In his latest column, Sen. Ron Richard, R-Joplin, describes how a bill becomes a law:

Snow shut down most of the normal operations at the state Capitol this week. With committees cancelled and much of our legislative work stalled, I thought this might be a good week to talk about the legislative process as a whole.


While some out there may be familiar with the trek from bill to law, I want to take the time to explain this process. After legislation is filed, it is introduced and first read on the floor (for this example, we’ll say it’s the Senate, but a bill can be introduced by either legislative body). The bill is then referred to a committee. During a committee hearing, bills are discussed and the public has the opportunity to testify on pending legislation. If the majority of the committee members approve the bill, it can go on and be debated on the floor.

After a bill makes it through committee, it is put on the Senate calendar. This action, however, does not guarantee it will be discussed. The majority floor leader decides which bills will be taken up by the full Senate for debate. Often, throughout the process, bills will be combined and modified so that important provisions are passed, even if the original bill does not progress through the process. When the majority of senators agree on a bill, it is brought to a vote. A majority vote sends the bill through the same process in the House of Representatives.

Any changes or additions made to a bill need to be agreed upon by the two legislative bodies. This is when senators and representatives meet in a conference committee to discuss and ultimately come to final agreement on the legislation. Once the bill has been accepted by both the House and Senate, it is sent to the governor for his approval. The governor has the option to sign or not sign the bill, but either way legislation will become law. If the governor vetoes the bill, it fails to become law.

A similar process applies to the budget, which is typically 13 different bills that each address funding for different areas of state government. The process is a little more extensive because we are crafting the funding plan that will support the state for the coming fiscal year. This year’s budget process is already underway. The governor’s budget proposal was delivered to the General Assembly, and public testimony on funding for state programs was heard in the Senate Appropriations Committee. The committee is currently hearing from state departments on their funding requests. They will take this information into consideration when reviewing the House budget plan after it is approved by the full House. The committee will then amend the House budget plan to reflect the Senate’s spending priorities, and this version of the budget will go before the full Senate. The conference committee process from this point is essentially the same as any other piece of legislation. The General Assembly’s constitutional deadline for completion of the budget this year falls on May 6.

These processes will continue when we resume work next week. We are starting to work more and more on legislation on the Senate floor, and our time debating legislation before the full body will increase as the session continues. I will continue to keep you posted on our work here in Jefferson City.