From Bill to Law

In the House & Senate:

1. The Sponsor introduces the bill by bringing it to Chief Clerk and signing the jacket cover, which is put on it by the Clerk.

2. The clerk examines the bill to see that it conforms to legislative rules & gives it a number.

3. Without objection the House/Senate passes the bill on 1st and 2nd reading. (This is a formality- the bill has to pass the full body 3 times, so the first to are given automatically.)

4. The Speaker assigns the bill to a Committee.

5. In the House, the Committee assigns the bill to a Subcommittee (In Senate, go to #7).

6. The Subcommittee may add amendments to the bill, and votes on the bill.
   8 NO VOTE- Depending on the Committee, the bill is dead/needs to be reworked.
   4 YES VOTE- (majority needed) The bill goes back to the Committee.

7. The Committee studies the bill, may hold hearings and add amendments, and votes.
   8 NO VOTE - The bill is dead.
   4 YES VOTE - (majority needed) Bill moves on in one of the following 2 ways:

8A. Bills that have a fiscal note (normally bills that have a fiscal note under $#100,000 can clear this step, but with the state’s fiscal situation, this has changed) go to the Finance Committee. This is where the fiscal note gets put onto a bill—the amount of money the bill will cost to implement. Finance Committee:
Assigns the bill to a Subcommittee
Subcommittee meets:
    8 NO VOTE- kills the bill
    4 YES VOTE- (majority needed) sends the bill to the full Finance Committee
Full Finance Committee meets:
    8 NO VOTE- kills the bill
    4 YES VOTE- (majority needed) bill goes to the Calendar Committee

8B. Bills with minimal fiscal impact go straight to the Calendar Committee.

9. Calendar Committee places the bill on the legislative calendar, and it goes to the floor of the House/Senate. (In the House, legislators debate the merits of the bill and can kill a bill by not placing it on the calendar).

10. The full Senate and House each debate the bill, possibly add amendments, & vote.
   8 NO VOTE- kills the bill
   4 YES VOTE- (majority needed—in the House- 50 and the Senate- 17)


Both the House and Senate must pass the same bill. They can substitute & conform (changing their own bill to match the other) or if they can’t agree, the bill goes to Conference Committee until a compromise can be reached. Once both houses have passed the exact same bill, then the Speaker of each house signs the bill. If both houses don’t pass the Conference Committee version or fail to pass a bill with the same language, the bill fails.

The bill is sent to the Governor, who can do one of the following:
- He/She signs the bill & sends it to the clerk who sends it to the Secretary of State who assigns it a chapter number and files it. THE BILL BECOMES A LAW.
- He/She vetoes the bill, it is sent back tot the House and Senate, If a 2/3 majority repasses, THE BILL BECOMES A LAW.
- He/She takes no action & sends it to the clerk who sends it to the secretary of State who assigns it a chapter number and files it. THE BILL BECOMES A LAW.

 

TENNESSEE LEGISLATURE 101

THE LEGISLATURE - Tennessee’s state legislature body is known as the General Assembly. Its function is to make laws. It can either add, repeal or modify (amend) existing laws. The General Assembly consists of a senate and a House of Representatives.

HOUSE - The House of Representatives is made up of 99 members who are elected to two-year terms. Each representative seat is on the ballot every two years.

SENATE - The Senate has 33 members who serve four-year terms. The terms are staggered with half of the seats being up for election every two years.

LEADERSHIP - The membership of each body elects a presiding officer or speaker for a two-year term who holds that office until a successor is chosen at the initial convening of the next General Assembly. No limit is placed on the number of times a member may retain the office of Speaker. The Speaker appoints the officers and membership of each standing committee. In the Senate, the speaker is called the Lieutenant Governor.

LEGISLATIVE SESSIONS - The Tennessee General Assembly meets in Nashville each year on the second Tuesday of January. Each General assembly meets 90 session days over a two-year period. In the first year of a new General Assembly, the ending date is approximately mid-to late May (though it can last longer). In the second year, the ending date is usually mid-to late April.

LEGISLATION - Legislative proposals can originate in either the senate or House in the form of bills, resolutions and joint resolutions. A bill is proposed law and may be either general or local. A general bill has a statewide impact, and a local bill affects only a county or town named in the bill.

SPONSORSHIP - In order for a bill to be introduced, it must have at least 1 House and 1 Senate sponsor. The deadline for getting House sponsors is usually around Feb. 19th (the 10th legislative day). Deadline for Senate sponsors is around Feb. 8th (2nd Thursday legislative day—after that there is a 9bill limit for each Senator until Feb. 19th)

COMMITTEES - All bills are assigned to a committee, based upon its subject matter.
Committee membership and leadership is assigned by the Speakers of each house. Most Committees also have subcommittees, which cover a specific part of the committee subject. Subcommittee chairs are appointed by the full committee chair.
The Senate has 10 Committees: 1. Calendar, 2. General Welfare, Health & Human Resources, 3. Commerce, Labor & Agriculture, 4. Government Operations, 5. Education, 6. Judiciary, 7. Environment, Conservation & Tourism, 8. State & Local Government, 9. Finance, Ways and Means, 10. Transportation.
The House has 14 Committees: 1. Agriculture, 2. Ethics, 3. Calendar & Rules, 4. Finance, Ways and Means, 5. Children & Family Affairs, 6. Government Operations, 7. Commerce, 8. Health and Human Resources, 9. Conservation & Environment, 10. Judiciary, 11. Consumer & Employee Affairs, 12. State and Local Government, 13. Education, 14. Transportation