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LEGISLATIVE PROCESS



The real path for legislation



By CHARLES N. WHEELER III

This annotation of the legislative process is reprinted from June 1984 Illinois Issues

Like A flowerbed abuzz with bees, Illinois' magnificent Capitol swarms with school children in springtime, youngsters who squeeze a peek at the legislature's doings somewhere between the State Museum's dioramas and Abraham Lincoln's home. To assist the kids in figuring out what the seeming chaos in the chambers means, brochures are available that purport to tell "How a Bill Becomes a Law," complete with neat little diagrams of the path to the statute books. Though impeccable by civics book standards, the explanation seems charmingly naive compared to real life. Offered here, therefore, is an annotated version of "How a Bill Becomes a Law."

A bill is introduced, read a first time, and assigned to a standing committee for hearings and recommendation.

  1. Except for bills that bypass committee, usually because they're deemed so urgent that their passage cannot await a committee hearing. They're also likely to be controversial, the very ones people might want to testify about. Last year [in 1983], for example, Gov. James R. Thompson's first tax increase plan was not considered in committee, but heard before the whole Senate, a device that moved the bill along without requiring anyone to vote for it.
  2. The notion that a first reading somehow alerts the citizenry to what's being proposed fails for the horde of "shell" bills each session; for them, at best it's a warning that somebody might have something up his sleeve for that section of the statute book, since nothing but the title will remain if the legislature decides to fill the "shell" bill with a completely new idea.
  3. Often proposals surface much farther down the legislative pipeline; some —far too many, in fact — even spring from the governor's fertile mind and amendatory veto power months after the legislature adjourns.

The committee may recommend "do not pass" and the bill dies. If the committee does not consider the bill, the bill dies.

  1. Unless, of course, the full Senate or House disagrees. In the late '70s, for example, the House Judiciary II Committee was much too liberal for the average law-and-order minded representative, so get-tough measures scuttled by the panel were revived routinely on the floor, either by rejecting a negative committee recommendation or by snatching a languishing measure from the panel.
  2. There's always second reading.

The committee may recommend "do pass," and the bill is sent back to the floor for second reading and amendments.

  1. Second reading, like the conference committee, provides demonstrable evidence of the legislature's belief in reincarnation. Sure, some amendments actually spruce up bills; it's just that sometimes a legislator thinks the most needed improvement for somebody else's bill is one of his proposals that's already failed.
  2. An amendment may embody a first-time-this-session idea; one former wheeler-dealer claimed he preferred to introduce his legislative program on second reading.
  3. It's media showtime on porkprone budgets like Transportation and the Capital Development Board, where lawmakers love to slap on home district highway and building projects. Everybody expects either the other chamber or the governor to trim the fat, but not before the press releases go out.

The bill advances to third reading, where members debate its merits and vote on it. If passed, it goes to the other house, where it goes through the corresponding process. If it does not pass, it dies.

  1. A charitable description of what happens during floor debate. Once in a while, there'll be a reasoned discussion of a bill's pros and cons. All too often, a sponsor will read the synopsis of his brainchild from the Legislative Digest, somebody will ask where a particular interest group stands, somebody else will toss in a comment or two about what he thinks the bill does (which it doesn't), and there'll be a vote.
  2. 1A. In the House, of course, debate frequently occurs after the vote, thanks to the novel "explanation of vote" concept; sometimes it's more illumuniting than the discourse that preceded it.

  3. On occassion, not even that occurs; in the past, both "agreed bill" lists and "user"" files have provided a way to vote simultaneously and without debate on dozens of bills, particularly in the closing crunch.
  4. Reflecting again the legislative abhorrence for finality, a bill that doesn't receive the requisite number of "aye" votes can be placed on postponed consideration, a sort of suspended animation while its sponsor looks for a cure for its infirmities.
  5. For terminal cases, there'll always be other bills to serve as vehicles for resurection.

If a bill is amended by the second house, it returns to its house of origin. If the first house refuses to accept the amendment and the second house refuses to withdraw it, the bill goes to conference committee where differences may be worked out.

  1. Or something entirely different may appear in lieu of, or in addition to, whatever was in the original bill. Last year's [1983] tax hike finally won approval as a conference committee report on a bill that started out to help nongame wildlife. In particular, conference committees are prone to slip in increased legislative perks, like pension sweeteners, on any suitable bill.
  2. Special mention for Medley Movers. This politically connected Chicago firm reached legendary heights in conference committee annals after payment for a disputed bill was tucked into numerous conference reports spanning several years, only to have them all rejected. Just the mention of Medley Movers brings smiles to the faces of legislative veterans – as does the notion that lawmaking occurs the way it's taught in school.□

22| Illinois Issues 1989 Roster


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