Life of a Bill

The bill is drafted by at least 1 senator and 2 representatives. 

The bill then gets sent to the clerk of the House of Representatives. 

The bill is reviewed by the Legislative Legal Council 

1. The council reviews for its legality and constitutionality. If a bill is deemed unconstitutional, it is postponed indefinitely. 

2. If there are some errors, the council will work with the bill sponsors to fix them.

 The bill then gets introduced to the House of Representatives. This is the first reading of the bill. 

 The Clerk of the House of Representatives is responsible for allotting debate time for this issue. The bill is then debated in the House of Representatives. There is no limit to how much debate is required before a vote. Some take longer than others. 

 The bill is then voted on by the House of Representatives. 

1. If the House of Representatives does not pass the bill, it is automatically failed and considered “lost”. The sponsors of the bill can re-write as many drafts or fix as many things as they want to, and introduce those changes to the bill to the House of Representatives. There shall be another reading of the bill for each change after the initial introduction. 

2. If the House of Representatives does pass the bill by a simple majority, it is considered “passed”. The Clerk, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall sign the bill only to indicate the bill has passed. The bill is then sent to the Senate. 

 The bill is introduced to the Senate by the sponsors, this is the second reading of the bill.

The bill is then debated in the Senate. Debates can take as long as they need to. 

 The bill is then voted on by the Senate. 

1. If the Senate does not pass the bill, it is automatically failed and considered “lost”

2. If the Senate does pass the bill by a simple majority, it is considered “passed”. The Secretary, and President of the Senate shall sign the bill only to indicate the bill has passed. The bill is then sent to the Governor.  

 The governor must make a decision to approve, or veto the bill. 

1. If the bill is approved, it becomes a law. 

2. If the Governor does not take any action on the bill within six months, it is considered “vetoed”. 

3. If it is vetoed, it does not become a law unless ⅔ of the General Assembly votes to override the veto. 

 If the bill has a mandatory petition for referendum, the bill is put on the ballot for voters to decide. 

1. An amendment to the constitution requires a 55% majority to become law. 

2. A proposition to state law requires a 50% plus one to become law. 

 90 Day Period: Because of Article II, Section 15 of the San Andreas Constitution, after the final adjournment of the legislative session of the General Assembly, citizens have 90 days to petition any legislation passed or introduced by adjourned legislative session. If any legislation is successfully petitioned, or is in the process of being petitioned within that timeframe, it gets put on the ballot for the voters to decide. THIS DOES NOT APPLY TO ALREADY REFERRED MEASURES.