If you’re anything like me, it’s been a couple decades since your last high school civics class. It’s understandable if you’re rusty when it comes to the legislative process.
Despite its age and campiness, Schoolhouse Rock is still a solid overview when it comes to explaining how a bill becomes a law. For the real ones out there, I also recommend watching the Simpsons parody.
But each state legislature, all the way up to Congress, have their own unique quirks that can slightly tweak the process here and there.
Stick with us as we lift the veil and guide you through the inner workings of the Idaho legislature. You can download our handy dandy flow chart here.
Step 1a: The RS
An RS, or routing slip, is generally the first time members of the public get to see a proposed bill during an introductory hearing held by one of many legislative committees.
After the sponsor offers a brief explanation of what it would do, committee members may choose to “print” it, meaning it becomes an official bill, or they may return it to the sponsor.
Returning an RS to the sponsor could mean the issue is dead for the year, but tweaks have often been made to get a few more votes in its favor.
This is one of the quirks within the Idaho legislature: most, if not all, other state legislatures allow bills to be introduced without any additional approval required.
Step 1b: Personal bills
This a House thing, but state representatives can introduce a bill without committee approval. However, that’s with the understanding that the legislation wouldn’t actually be considered that year in earnest.
Introducing a personal bill is often done to make a policy stand that doesn’t have much support within the House, examples of which include proposals to add sexual orientation and gender identity to Idaho’s nondiscrimination laws or to charge mothers who abort a fetus with murder.
They’re also used to present a draft bill toward the end of a session that the public can look at and provide feedback before it’s attempted to be introduced the following year.
Step 2: The public hearing
After a bill is officially introduced by a committee, it typically waits at least a day before a public hearing is held. This is when a bill’s sponsor(s) make the case for why it should be considered by the full House or Senate.
Members of the public are then allowed to comment on the proposal, though committee chairs have wide discretion as to how many people will testify, the time limit for taking public testimony and even who qualifies to testify.
Multiple House committee chairs in 2023 imposed restrictions on minors testifying, though eventually relented as long as they had parental permission.
After public testimony and closing arguments, committee members debate the issue. They can choose to send it to the floor with or without a recommendation, send it to the floor for possible amendments or hold it in committee, which is typically a death sentence.
Step 3: The floor vote
This is when a bill hits the big time.
Its sponsors will once again present the best case they can make in front of their elected peers who will get to have their say in debate.
After all debate has ceased, the sponsors may add a rebuttal to points raised before votes are cast. House members vote electronically using their desk phones, while senators still record their votes through a roll call.
Step 4: Wash, rinse and repeat
Did the bill pass the House? Great! It’s time for another public hearing in a Senate committee. Same goes for legislation first approved by the Senate. See steps two and three.
Step 5a: Sign or stamp?
If a bill manages to get the necessary votes from both chambers, it then must go through an archaic bureaucratic process before it lands on the governor’s desk, which can take hours or even days after the most recent vote was taken.
Once it arrives at the governor’s office, they have five days in which to sign the bill into law, let it become law without a signature or veto it.
Step 5b: So, you got vetoed…
Not a fan of red ink? Neither are a lot of lawmakers when they see a veto stamp on their bills. But, there’s still hope left for that legislation.
Two-thirds of both the House and Senate can vote to override a governor’s veto, propelling the bill into law without executive approval.
This only happens occasionally, and veto-proof majorities formed during the first round of voting can suddenly evaporate for political reasons.
Follow James Dawson on Twitter @RadioDawson for more local news.
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