How a Bill Becomes a Police

Click to view the detailed description of the legislative process.

An idea emerges.
Laws begin equally ideas for governance that Council members (elected officials of the District'south legislative co-operative of government) formulate for the betterment of the lives of residents and the productiveness of businesses and organizations in the Commune of Columbia.

A written document is produced.
These ideas are recorded on paper in a drafting mode developed to ensure clarity of intent and consistency of presentation.

A bill is born.
Once these ideas are developed and memorialized in writing, a Council member introduces the certificate by filing it with the Secretary to the Council.  At this point, the document becomes a Nib (or proposed police) and is the property of the Quango.

Other entities may introduce a bill.
The District's Charter allows the Mayor to introduce bills earlier the Council besides.  Too, under its Rules of Organization, the Council allows Charter independent agencies to introduce bills.  Both the Mayor and the Charter independent agencies introduce bills before the Council via the Chairman of the Council.
THE BILL'Southward PATH

The bill is assigned to a committee.
At the fourth dimension a Bill is introduced before the Council it is assigned to a committee of the Council with expertise over the subject area affair that the Beak addresses.  A committee is not obligated to review or consider the Bill.  If the commission chooses non to review the Bill during the 2-year catamenia that the Council is convened, the Bill will dice and must be introduced once again when a new Council is convened in order to be considered by that Council.  If the committee chooses to review the Neb, then information technology will normally conduct a hearing apropos the subject matter of the Nib where the committee volition receive testimony from residents and regime officials in support of and confronting the Beak.  The committee may brand whatever changes information technology chooses to the Bill.  If the committee decides that it wants the Neb to get law, it will vote the Bill out of commission and prepare it for consideration by all thirteen members of the Council.

And so it goes to the Committee of the Whole.
One time a Pecker is reported out of committee, the Bill is considered past a special committee of the Council that comprises all 13 members of the Council.  That commission is called the Committee of the Whole, or "Cow" for short.  At a coming together of the COW, the Quango prepares all the bills that are to be considered for vote at the side by side legislative meeting of the Quango chosen to consider bills and other matters pending before the Council.  The Bill is placed on the calendar of the upcoming legislative coming together forth with all other matters that volition come before the Quango.

Becoming law.
A Beak "agendized" for a Council legislative meeting will be considered at that coming together.  The Bill will be discussed by the Quango members and amended if the Council members decide that word and amendments are warranted.  If the Neb is approved by the Quango at this meeting by bulk vote, it is placed on the agenda for the next Council legislative meeting that takes place at to the lowest degree 14 days later on the present meeting.  The Council then considers the Beak for a second time at the side by side meeting.  If the Quango approves the Bill at second reading, the Bill is and so sent to the Mayor for his or her consideration.  The Mayor may take one of three deportment when considering the Beak: i) sign the legislation; two) allow the legislation to get constructive without his or her signature; or iii) disapprove the legislation by exercising his or her veto power.  If the Mayor vetoes the legislation, the Quango must reconsider the legislation and approve it by ii-thirds vote of the Council in order for information technology to go effective.  Once the Mayor has canonical the legislation or the Council has overridden the Mayor's veto, the legislation is assigned an Act number.

Non done even so… the final steps to enactment.
Although at this betoken the Bill has effectively get an Act, its journeying to becoming a law that must be obeyed past the populace is not yet consummate.  Unique to the District of Columbia, an approved Human action of the Quango must be sent to the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate for a flow of xxx days before becoming effective every bit police force (or 60 days for certain criminal legislation).  During this period of congressional review, the Congress may enact into police force a joint resolution disapproving the Council'south Deed.  If, during the review period, the President of the Us approves the joint resolution, the Council's Act is prevented from becoming law.  If, however, upon the expiration of the congressional review period, no joint resolution disapproving the Council's Act has been approved past the President, the Pecker finally becomes a Police force and is assigned a law number.

SPECIAL LEGISLATION (this is where things go a bit complicated).

Emergency Legislation
Because of the long and time-consuming path a neb must take to become constabulary under the District'southward Charter, Congress has provided a mechanism whereby the Council may enact legislation quickly, on a short term basis.  The District's Charter allows the Council to enact special "emergency" legislation without the demand for a 2nd reading and without the need for congressional review.  Mayoral review is nonetheless required.  Also, past rule of the Council, this emergency legislation is not assigned to a committee and does not go through the Cow procedure.  The Lease requires that emergency legislation exist in upshot for no longer than 90 days.

Temporary Legislation
Although emergency legislation allows the Council to immediately address a civic issue, it presents a situation where the law volition expire after 90 days.  Experience has shown that 90 days is not sufficient time for the Quango to enact regular, "permanent" legislation earlier the emergency constabulary dies.  Therefore, by rule, the Council allows for the introduction of "temporary" legislation that may be introduced at the same time every bit emergency legislation and that bypasses the commission assignment and COW processes in the same manner every bit emergency legislation.  Dissimilar emergency legislation, however, but like regular legislation, temporary legislation must undergo a 2d reading, mayoral review, and the congressional review period.  Because temporary legislation bypasses the commission assignment and COW processes, it moves through the Quango much faster than regular legislation.  Temporary legislation remains in effect for no longer than 225 days, sufficient time for the Council to enact permanent legislation.

And so there are resolutions (legislation that does not become a police force).
The Council has other legislative duties in addition to creating laws to govern the populace.  Some of these duties are accomplished by passing resolutions.  Resolutions are used to limited unproblematic determinations, decisions, or directions of the Council of a special or temporary character, and to approve or disapprove proposed actions of a kind historically or traditionally transmitted past the Mayor and certain governmental entities to the Council pursuant to an existing police.  Resolutions are constructive subsequently only one reading of the Quango and practice not require mayoral or congressional review.