How a Bill Becomes a Law in Missouri

HOW A BILL BECOMES A LAW

A bill only becomes law by going through the legislative process. This process has many steps and a bill only continues to advance if each requirement is met.

FILING 1

Legislators introduce bills starting December 1 through March 1. The bills introduced are read for a first and second time.

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PUBLIC HEARING

At least 24-hour notice must be given of a public hearing to allow Missourians to attend & share their perspective on the bill.

COMMITTEE 2

Once read, bills are assigned to a committee. Committee Chairs can either advance bills by scheduling those for public hearings or stall them in committee.

COMMITTEE VOTE

To advance after a public hearing, Committee Chairs must call for a vote on the bill in a scheduled executive session (not open to the public). Calling your elected leader ahead of these votes is critical.

IF HOUSE: IF SENATE: 4

Once voted out of committee, the bill moves to a discussion and vote in the Rules Committee.

Once voted out of committee, the bill moves to the Senate calendar.

FLOOR DEBATE 5

If House:

A bill voted out of the Rules Committee can be brought up for a floor debate at any time by House leadership.

Bills debated on the House floor by legislators can have a vote called at any time during the debate.

If Senate:

A bill placed on the Senate calendar must be debated in the order it was added to the calendar.

Bills debated on the Senate floor can be filibustered by Senators to stall their votes.

SECOND CHAMBER

Bills need approval of a constitutional majority to be voted out of either chamber. The Senate needs 18 votes and the House needs 82 votes. A bill will then be sent to the second chamber (House bill to Senate and Senate bill to House) to start that chamber’s process.

After the floor debate in the second chamber, the bill is up for a final vote requiring a majority vote to pass.

FINAL PASS

It is immediately followed by a second vote of “truly agreed upon and finally passed.”

There is one catch . . . When the final vote occurs, the bill must have the EXACT same language as it did when passed in the first chamber. Any changes force the bill back to its original chamber where it will restart the legislative process.

After the Final Pass, a bill is sent to the governor’s desk where they can either sign it into law or veto the bill. If vetoed, the House and Senate can override with a two-thirds majority vote.

Learn More @ promomissouri.org