81. Introduction To Laws And Regulations 1. Creating a Law. Step 1 A member of Congress proposes a bill. A bill is a document that, if approved, will become law. To see http://www.epa.gov/epahome/lawintro.htm

Recent Additions Contact Us Print Version Search: Advanced Search EPA Home EPA Newsroom Browse EPA Topics ... Careers Introduction to Laws and Regulations Laws and regulations are a major tool in protecting the environment. Congress passes laws that govern the United States. To put those laws into effect, Congress authorizes certain government agencies, including EPA, to create and enforce regulations . Below, you'll find a basic description of how laws and regulations come to be, what they are, and where to find them, with an emphasis on environmental laws and regulations. 1. Creating a Law Step 1 : A member of Congress proposes a bill . A bill is a document that, if approved, will become law. To see the text of bills Congress is considering or has considered, look on the Library of Congress' Thomas Web server Step 2 : If both houses of Congress approve a bill, it goes to the President who has the option to either approve it or veto it. If approved, the new law is called an act , and the text of the act is known as a public statute. Some of the better-known laws related to the environment are the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Safe Drinking Water Act.

82. ENN News Story - Three California Bills Would Target Cruise Ship Air And Wastewa waters. The trio of bills passed the state Assembly in June, and the Senate Appropriations Committee must act by next week if they are to become law. http://www.enn.com/news/2003-08-22/s_7755.asp

Site Index: Home News ENN Earthnews Affiliates News In-Depth Topics Interact Online Quizzes Postcards Marketplace Business Center Store Advanced Search Advertise Join ENN e-mail Subscription Take our Survey Affiliate Tech Center Post Press Release Help About ENN Site Map Three California bills would target cruise ship air and wastewater pollution Friday, August 22, 2003 By Terence Chea, Associated Press The Legislature is considering three bills that would curb wastewater and air pollution from cruise ships that travel in or near state waters. If adopted, proponents say they would be the strictest state laws regulating an industry that operates mostly beyond national borders. "The industry says 'trust us,' but we've gotten to the point where 'trust us' isn't strong environmental policy anymore," said Assemblyman Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, who authored two of the bills. The industry calls the legislation unnecessary and expensive to enforce, pointing out that cruise lines have adopted their own pollution-control measures and that other ships pollute the Pacific as well. "Why don't we attack the overall issues as opposed to targeting a minuscule part of the problem?" said Michael Crye, president of the International Council of Cruise Lines. "The oceans are our home too. It's inherent to our business interests to protect those places."

83. American Renaissance individual immigrants. The most dramatic is the introduction of socalled private bills. They rarely become law, but can still resonate. http://www.amren.com/news/020204/exceptions.html

84. Freedom To Tinker: Use A Firewall, Go To Jail for State SuperDMCA bills » March 26, 2003 Use are preparing to consider bills that apparently are intended to bill; MA bill) The bills are obviously related to each http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/archives/000336.html

Freedom to Tinker ... is your freedom to understand, discuss, repair, and modify the technological devices you own. Main March 26, 2003 Use a Firewall, Go to Jail TX bill MA bill ) The bills are obviously related to each other somehow, since they are textually similar. Here is one example of the far-reaching harmful effects of these bills. Both bills would flatly ban the possession, sale, or use of technologies that "conceal from a communication service provider ... the existence or place of origin or destination of any communication". Your ISP is a communication service provider, so anything that concealed the origin or destination of any communication from your ISP would be illegal with no exceptions. If you send or receive your email via an encrypted connection, you're in violation, because the "To" and "From" lines of the emails are concealed from your ISP by encryption. (The encryption conceals the destinations of outgoing messages, and the sources of incoming messages.) Worse yet, Network Address Translation (NAT), a technology widely used for enterprise security, operates by translating the "from" and "to" fields of Internet packets, thereby concealing the source or destination of each packet, and hence violating these bills. Most security "firewalls" use NAT, so if you use a firewall, you're in violation. If you have a home DSL router, or if you use the "Internet Connection Sharing" feature of your favorite operating system product, you're in violation because these connection sharing technologies use NAT. Most operating system products (including every version of Windows introduced in the last five years, and virtually all versions of Linux) would also apparently be banned, because they support connection sharing via NAT.

85. How A Bill Becomes A Law how a bill becomes a law. PROPOSED LEGISLATION STARTS LIFE AS A BILL, becomes an act when passed by the Council, and is finally a http://www.dccouncil.washington.dc.us/how.html

how a bill becomes a law PROPOSED LEGISLATION STARTS LIFE AS A BILL, becomes an act when passed by the Council, and is finally a law after the mandated Congressional review period. Bills can only be introduced by a member of the Council. The Chairman as a courtesy may introduce a bill requested by the mayor. Hundreds of bills are introduced in each Council Period for consideration of the Council. When a bill is introduced, it receives a filing number in the Office of the Secretary which is used to track the bill through the legislative process. The first number is the Period in which it was introduced, and the second number indicates its place in the numerical sequence of bills introduced. The Chairman assigns the bill for consideration to the proper standing committee or committees as designated by Council Rules. During consideration of the bill, the chairperson of the committee may schedule a public hearing or roundtable on the bill. To solicit public comment, the committee publishes notice of the public hearing 15 days in advance in the D.C. Register. When considering a bill, the committee examines the need for the legislation, reviews public comments, and determines the fiscal impact. The committee may mark up the bill and vote to recommend that the Council approve or disapprove the bill. Or, the committee may choose to take no action on the bill allowing it to die in committee. If the committee reports the bill out, the Council officers review the legislation and report to the Committee of the Whole whether the record is complete and in proper legal or technical order. Members of the Council do not debate the bill at this stage, but can ask for clarification or explanations. The Chairman will place the bill on the agenda of the legislative meeting with approval of the Committee of the Whole.

86. North Carolina General Assembly - Research Division the veto, the bill is sent to the second house where 3/5 of present and voting members must also vote to override the veto before the bill can become law. http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/NCGAInfo/Bill-Law/bill-law.html

Site Navigation Home House Senate Committees ... Help Site Searches 2003-2004 Session '03 ES on Econ. Dev. '03 ES on Redist. '02 ES on Redist. 2001-2002 Session '00 Special Sess. 1999-2000 Session '99 Special Sess. '98 Special Sess. 1997-1998 Session '96 Special Sess. #2 '96 Special Sess. 1995-1996 Session '94 Special Sess. 1993-1994 Session 1991-1992 Session 1989-1990 Session 1987-1988 Session 1985-1986 Session Bill Look-Up Example: S456 S.L. Look-Up Example: 46 Statute Look-Up Example: 17D-4 Bill Text Search Site Information Privacy Statement Policies HOUSE CALENDAR [past cals] ... [past cals] How a Law is Made Printable Version Graphical Version Adobe Acrobat (PDF) Version Movie Drafting of Bills A bill is a proposed law. It may be drafted by any competent person. The Legislative Services Commission's Bill Drafting Division drafts bills at the request of the members of the General Assembly. The Office of the Attorney General has the statutory duty to draft bills for the State departments and agencies generally, including the General Assembly. Thus, legislators have two separate offices to which they may turn for drafts of bills. Introduction of Bills Only a member of the General Assembly may introduce a bill - that is, present it to the General Assembly for its consideration - and he or she is called the bill's introducer or sponsor.

87. Texas House Of Representatives Governor s Action Upon receiving a bill, the governor has 10 days in which to sign the bill, veto it, or allow it to become law without a signature. http://www.house.state.tx.us/resources/bill2law.htm

Additional Resources More Detailed Information on the Steps in the Legislative Process How a Bill Becomes a Law (An HRO Focus Report) Resources Download HRO's Focus Report How A Bill Becomes A Law The Legislative Branch of Government The Texas Constitution divides state government into three separate but equal branches: the executive branch, headed by the governor; the judicial branch, which consists of the Texas Supreme Court and all state courts; and the legislative branch, headed by the Texas Legislature, which includes the 150 members of the house of representatives and the 31 members of the state senate. Members of the house of representatives are elected to two-year terms and represent districts of about 113,000 people each. Senators serve four-year terms and serve about 550,000 people each. The legislature meets every odd-numbered year to write new laws and to find solutions to the problems facing the state. This meeting time, which begins on the second Tuesday in January and lasts 140 days, is called the regular session. The governor can direct the legislature to meet at other times also. These meetings, called special sessions, can last no more than 30 days and deal only with issues chosen by the governor.

88. Child Care And Early Learning - Connect For Kids - Kids & Politics The President can also take no action on the bill for ten days while Congress is in session and the bill will automatically become law. http://www.kidsandpolitics.org/advocatetoolkit5.htm

How a Federal Bill Becomes a Law (Or Not) printer friendly Tips on Telephoning Your Representatives Tips on Writing Elected Officials Communicating with the White House ... Fact Sheets and Action Alerts Introduction 1. Referral to Committee With few exceptions, bills are referred to standing committees in the House or Senate according to carefully outlined procedural rules. 2. Committee Consideration 3. Subcommittee Review Bills are often referred to a subcommittee for study and hearings. Hearings provide the opportunity to put on the record the views of the executive branch, experts, other public officials, supporters and opponents of the legislation. 4. Mark Up 5. Committee Action to Report a Bill 6. Publication of Committee Report Once a bill has been reported, the committee chairman instructs staff to prepare a written report about the bill. This published report will include the purpose of the bill, its impact on existing, laws, budgetary considerations, and any new taxes or tax increases that will be required by the bill. Additionally, the report includes the position of the executive branch, as well as the views of dissenting members of the committee.

89. LII: About...Legislation into to two bodies as Senate and House in the United States government) the bill must be passed through both houses in exactly the same form to become the law. http://www.law.cornell.edu/topics/legislation.html

Law About . . . collection home search tell me more LII home ... donate legislation: an overview Legislation refers to the preparation and enactment of laws by a legislative body through its lawmaking process. The legislative process includes evaluating, amending, and voting on proposed laws and is concerned with the words used in the bill to communicate the values, judgments, and purposes of the proposal. An idea becomes an item of legislative business when it is written as a bill. A bill is a draft, or tentative version, of what might become part of the written law. A bill that is enacted is called an act or statute. Ideas for legislation can come from legislators who have experience in a particular field, or legislators can copy legislation because an idea that works well in one jurisdiction can be useful to its neighbors. Legislators also receive proposals from the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws; a conference of 250 lawyers appointed by governors to represent the states. The Council of State Governments, the American Law Institute, the American Bar Association, and numerous other organizations all produce model acts for legislatures. Protection and promotion of social and economic interests of particular groups also motivate legislation. Interests groups usually become involved in the legislative process through lobbyists.

90. U.S. Constitution - Article I Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a law, be presented to the President of the United http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.articlei.html

U.S. Constitution collection home search Article I Section 1. All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives. Section 2. The House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen every second year by the people of the several states, and the electors in each state shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the state legislature. No person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the age of twenty five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state in which he shall be chosen. Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several states which may be included within this union, according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons. The actual Enumeration shall be made within three years after the first meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent term of ten years, in such manner as they shall by law direct. The number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand, but each state shall have at least one Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the state of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three.

91. Directgov Youth Section The person or organisation that wants the Bill to become law introduces this sort of Bill following a petition to Parliament. Hybrid http://younggov.ukonline.gov.uk/oee/youth.nsf/sections/howgovtworks/$file/bills1

Help Feedback About us Bookmark this site How govt. works Bills and laws First steps The Readings How laws are made by the UK Parliament There are five main types of legislation considered by Parliament: Government Bills, Private Members' Bills, Private Bills, Hybrid Bills and Statutory Instruments. Government Bills : cover issues of Government policy and are introduced in Parliament by a Minister. They take up the largest proportion of Parliamentary time. At the start of the Parliamentary session, The Queen makes a speech to Parliament outlining her Government's plans for new laws. Watch the Queen's Speech: Private Members' Bills : introduced by an individual backbench MP or Peer from any political party.

92. Language Legislation In The U.S.A. Such a bill would apply to the federal government alone and would require only majority vote in Congress (as well as the President s signature) to become law. http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/JWCRAWFORD/langleg.htm

Anti-Bilingual Initiative "Babel" in Schools Bilingual Ballots Bilingual Education ... Language Rights Language Legislation Life After Prop. 227 Louisiana Muhlenberg Legend "Multilingual Government" ... Research Controversy Issues in U.S. Language Policy Language Legislation in the U.S.A. Official English and anti-bilingual education bills introduced in 108th Congress state legislatures 2002 Highlights Unz Wins in Massachusetts , Loses in Colorado Congress Repeals the Bilingual Education Act; "No Child Left Behind," H.R. 1, Signed into Law Comprehensive Guide to Title III the new English Language Acquisition Act One Step Forward, Two Steps Back English-Only Wins in Iowa , Loses in Alaska and Oklahoma English Only legislation first appeared in 1981 as a constitutional English Language Amendment . This proposal, if approved by a two-thirds vote of the House and Senate and ratified by three-quarters of state legislatures, would have banned virtually all uses of languages other than English by federal, state, and local governments. But the measure has never come to a Congressional vote, even in committee. Since 1981, 22 states have adopted various forms of Official English legislation, in addition to four that had already done so. Subtracting

93. MAINE S PATH OF LEGISLATION passed. A bill can become law immediately if the Legislature, by a 2/3 vote of each chamber, declares that an emergency exists. http://www.state.me.us/legis/path/path.htm

Produced and distributed under the direction of the Clerk of the House and Secretary of the Senate. MAINE'S PATH OF LEGISLATION IDEA DEVELOPED A legislator decides to sponsor a bill, sometimes at the suggestion of a constituent, interest group, public official or the Governor. The legislator may ask other legislators in either chamber to join as co-sponsors. While the Maine legislator performs a number of different tasks, the legislative function is essentially that of proposing, considering and enacting laws. Each year, Maine's legislators consider hundreds of ideas for state laws. The process by which an idea becomes a law is a complicated one, involving many steps. It is designed to prevent hasty or uninformed decisions on matters that can affect the lives of every Maine citizen. Although the process may seem confusing at first, rules and procedures clearly define the steps that apply to every bill. BILL DRAFTED At the legislator's direction, the Revisor's Office, Office of Policy and Legal Analysis, and Office of Fiscal and Program Review staff provides research and drafting assistance and prepare the bill in proper technical form Ideas for bills come from many different sources: legislators, committees, study groups, lobbyists, public interest groups, municipal officials, the Governor, state agencies and individual citizens.

94. O HI' O Defined - State Government 4 If signed, the bill becomes law. At this point, the bill can only become law if at least threefifths of the legislators vote to override the governor s veto. http://www.oplin.lib.oh.us/products/ohiodefined/government-4.htm

The Ohio Secretary of State The Ohio Public Library Information Network Ohio Appellate Courts Judges elected to six-year terms Term limit: None As intermediate level appellate courts, the Ohio Appellate Courts' function is to hear appeals from the common pleas, municipal and county courts. Each case is heard and decided by a three-judge panel. The state is divided into 12 appellate districts. Each district is served by a court of appeals that sits in each of the counties in that district. The number of judges in each district depends on a variety of factors, including the court's caseload and the size of the district. Common Pleas Courts Each county in Ohio also has a common pleas court that decides probate, juvenile and domestic cases. Some counties also have county and municipal court systems. Creating new laws and changing existing ones are two of the most important functions of state government. Any proposal for a new law or for changing an existing law must begin as a bill in Ohio's General Assembly. Most bills require a majority vote in both the Senate and the House of Representatives to pass. If a bill passes in both chambers, it is then presented to the governor to be signed. The governor has 10 days to sign or veto a bill. If signed, the bill becomes law. If vetoed, the bill is sent back to the General Assembly. At this point, the bill can only become law if at least three-fifths of the legislators vote to override the governor's veto. A bill can also become law if the governor fails to take any action on it within 10 days.

95. About Ohio S State Government If signed, the bill becomes law. At this point the bill can only become law if at least threefifths of the legislators vote to override the Governor s veto. http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/organizational.cfm

Brief History Voting in Ohio Organizational Chart The Legislative Process ... Index of Legislative Web Sites Educational Information Discover Ohio Evolution of Ohio Ohio History Educational Packet Ohio Bicentennial Commission ... Ohio History Central Organizational Chart of Ohio's State Government Ohio's state government contains three branches: executive, legislative and judicial. The Executive branch includes the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Auditor of State, Attorney General, Treasurer of State, State Board of Education and the Governor's Cabinet. The Cabinet members serve as directors for the many state agencies and are appointed by the Governor. The Legislative branch consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Together, these bodies are referred to as "The General Assembly." Ohio's House of Representatives has 99 members; the Senate has 33. The Legislative Service Commission , a staff of trained legal experts and personnel, drafts proposals for new laws and law changes, is one of several legislative agencies that are also part of the Legislative branch of Ohio's state government.

96. Legislative Procedure A bill must pass through a number of stages in the House before it can become law. A bill becomes law when the GovernorGeneral gives the Royal assent to it. http://www.clerk.parliament.govt.nz/Publications/Other/Booklet/2 - Legislative P

Search this Site Section 1 The New Zealand Parliament Section 2 Legislative Procedure Section 3 Parliament's Working Procedures Section 4 Financial Procedure Section 5 Parliament and Accountability Legislative Procedure A proposed law is known as a "bill". Any member of Parliament may introduce a bill after drafting it and following the appropriate procedures. Most bills are introduced by Ministers and are known as Government bills A bill introduced by a member who is not a Minister is known as a Member's bill . There are two other types of bill that may be introduced either by Ministers or by other members - local bills which are promoted by a local authority to deal with a particular matter in its locality and private bills which are promoted by a company or an individual to deal with a matter relating to that company or individual. Members introducing local or private bills do so as a service to the promoter of the bill and not necessarily because they agree with it. Members', local and private bills are considered at each alternate Wednesday sitting of the House. Government bills may be considered at any other sitting. A bill must pass through a number of stages in the House before it can become law. These stages are designed to permit members to consider it carefully and to allow members of the public to make known their opinions and put forward their suggestions as to whether it should be agreed to and whether it should be amended in certain respects before becoming law.

97. LAWMAKING IN MASSACHUSETTS Because the session has ended, the bill will not automatically become law after ten days and the General Court has no opportunity to override the veto. http://www.state.ma.us/legis/lawmkng.htm

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts LAWMAKING IN MASSACHUSETTS Observing a Committee Hearing Observing a House or Senate Session Participating in the Legislative Process Glossary of Terms The responsibility for enacting laws in Massachusetts rests primarily with the state legislature, formally known as the General Court. It is divided into two branches: a 160-member House of Representatives and a 40-member Senate. The two legislative branches work concurrently on pending laws brought before them. Lawmaking begins in the House or Senate Clerk's office where petitions, accompanied by bills, resolves, etc., are filed and recorded in a docket book. The clerks number the bills and assign them to appropriate joint committees. There are 21 of these committees, each responsible for studying the bills which pertain to a specific area (i.e., taxation, education, health care, insurance, etc.). Each committee is composed of six senators and eleven representatives. The standing committees schedule public hearings for the individual bills, which afford citizens, legislators and lobbyists the opportunity to express their views. Committee members meet at a later time in executive session* to review the public testimony and discuss the merits of each bill before making their recommendations to the full membership of the House or Senate. The committee then issues its report, recommending that a bill "ought to pass" or "ought not to pass" and the report is submitted to the Clerk's office.

98. Pohnpei Legislature - Citizen's Guide or proposal is also subject to the mandate of Subsection (4) of Section 12 of Article 8, which stipulates, in part, that To become law, a bill shall pass two http://www.fm/PohnpeiLeg/citguide.htm

Site Features Welcome Current Events News Archives Members ... Home Pohnpei Legislature Citizen's Guide HOW A BILL BECOMES LAW THE LEGISLATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL MANDATE The Pohnpei Constitution mandates that the Pohnpei State Government shall have three equal and distinct branches of the government. Article 8, Legislative, is headed by the Speaker of the Pohnpei Legislature, which branch shall be vested with the power and authority to enact laws. CRITERIA NEEDED BEFORE A BILL IS DRAFTED AND THE PROCESS OF DRAFTING Section 12 of Article 8 generally lays out how a bill is passed and becomes law. Each bill shall embrace only one subject and it shall be expressed in the title of the bill. The content, nature and length of a bill will depend upon the subject of the bill. A bill may be introduced or requested to be drafted by one or more members of the Legislative body, by the Governor's Office, or other governmental entities through the Governor's Office. Bills introduced through the Governor's Office are labeled "by request" by the Legislature and are usually signed by the Floor Leader. Sources of the ideas are numerous and encompass a wide array of areas. Any bill that is drafted goes through a process in the Legislative Counsel Division of the Legislature for its legality and other technical changes. HOW A BILL IS INTRODUCED A proposed bill then goes to the Speaker's Office for Committee assignment. A bill can be assigned to one committee or jointly assigned to two committees depending upon the subject of the proposal. After it has been assigned, the bill is then transferred over to the Legislative Clerk's Office for numbering and logging of the bill.

99. Texas Legislature Online - Legislative Process In Texas Explanation of the legislative process for the Texas Legislature. http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/capitol/legproc/diagram.htm

Home Legislation House Senate ... Help The Legislative Process in Texas Diagram of Legislative Process This diagram displays the sequential flow of a bill from the time it is introduced in the House of Representatives to final passage and transmittal to the Governor. A bill introduced in the Senate would follow the same procedure in reverse. Home Legislation House Senate ... Top

100. CongressLink Or, the President can take no action for ten days, while Congress is in session, and it automatically becomes law. If the President opposes the bill he can http://www.congresslink.org/lawsshort.html

Information Center Write to Congress Guide to Congress Guide to Media ... The Web Endorsements How Our Laws Are Made: Short Version Adapted from Congress at Your Fingertips from Capitol Advantage ( http://capitoladvantage.com Anyone may draft a bill; however, only members of Congress can introduce legislation, and by doing so become the sponsor(s). There are four basic types of legislation: bills, joint resolutions, concurrent resolutions, and simple resolutions. The official legislative process begins when a bill or resolution is numbered - H.R. signifies a House bill and S. a Senate bill - referred to a committee and printed by the Government Printing Office. Step 1. Referral to Committee With few exceptions, bills are referred to standing committees in the House or Senate according to carefully delineated rules of procedure.

A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

Page 5     81-100 of 101    Back | 1  | 2  | 3  | 4  | 5  | 6  | Next 20