How a Bill becomes a Law in NH

HOW A BILL BECOMES A LAW IN NEW HAMPSHIRE-HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Bills are drafted and come from the ~400 elected Representatives in the NH House. Private Citizens or interest groups, such as NH Coalition for Vaccination Choice, find a sponsor in the House of Representatives to propose legislation and submit their suggestion to Legislative Services for drafting. All drafted bills must be approved and signed by the sponsoring legislator, as well as the co-sponsors.

THE BILL IS INTRODUCED TO THE LEGISLATURE AND ASSIGNED A COMMITTEE

The bill is introduced by the Clerk of the House and assigned to a standing committee by the Speaker of the house. Every bill introduced and referred to committee must have a public hearing. New Hampshire is one of the few states requiring a public hearing on ALL bills (unless there is a special 2/3 vote). New Hampshire citizens should consider themselves very fortunate to be able to participate in the bill to law process.

CONDUCT OF COMMITTEE HEARINGS AND TESTIMONY

The Chairman announces the number and title of the bill at the beginning of the hearing. People wishing to testify before the committee are required to rise, address the Chairman, give their names, addresses and, if appearing in a lobbyist, state such to the Clerk. Those in favor of the bill and those against the bill alternate in speaking at all hearings. Those wishing to speak leave their names with the Committee Clerk (pink form) and are called in order to give their testimony.

NOTE: This is a very general overview.

COMMITTEE DELIBERATION        

Committee deliberation is done in executive session to be held on Tuesday, February 16th at 10 am in LOB 205 and a majority of the committee members must be present in order to take action. The committee submits a report to the Clerk entitled “Ought to pass”, “Ought to pass as amended”, “Inexpedient to legislate”-which means the bill may die in committee, “Refer to interim study”, or "Re-refer to Committee”. The report reflects the majority decision of those at the committee deliberation. WE WILL BE THERE RECORDING HOW EACH COMMITTEE MEMBER VOTES.

THE BILL RETURNS TO THE HOUSE FLOOR   
All bills may be acted upon the day after the committee report appears in the House Calendar. Any amendments proposed by the committee which make material changes in the original bill must be printed in the calendar.

Action on bills is taken on the second reading on the floor of the House. Debate, if any, is held and amendments are made at this time.

A bill is considered killed when the House votes to adopt the committee report of "Inexpedient to legislate," or when a motion from the floor to "Indefinitely postpone" is adopted.

After a bill has passed the body of the Legislature in which it originated, it is sent on to the other body (Senate in our case) where it goes through similar procedures, except for bills containing an appropriation. Letters to your Senators need to be sent while the bill is still in the House.

AMENDED BILLS

Every bill must be passed in identical form by each of the two bodies, Senate and House, before it is sent to the Governor. If you haven’t yet sent a letter to your Senator in support of HB 1555, be sure to do so before it goes for a vote in the Senate.

If a bill has been amended by the non-originating body (Senate), it is sent back to the originating body for concurrence. At this point, there are three options:

• The originating body concurs, or agrees, and the bill is sent to the Governor.
• The originating body nonconcurs, or does not agree, and requests a Committee of Conference between the two bodies. In this case, the Senate President and the House Speaker normally appoint a conference committee of members of both houses to work out a compromise.
• The originating body does not concur, no Committee of Conference is requested, and the bill dies.

All reports of conference committees must be distributed to the members of each body before action can be taken. The originating body acts first on a conference committee report.

ENROLLED BILLS

When a bill has passed both houses, it is sent to the Committee on Enrolled Bills for the purpose of enrolling. This committee carefully examines the bill for clerical errors or formal imperfections. In case of such errors, it reports them back to both houses for amendment in those particulars only.

Once the enrolling reports are read in each house, the bill is signed by the Senate President or the Speaker of the House. (This is an administrative function only and does not carry power of veto by refusal.) The bill is then forwarded to the Secretary of State.

The bill is transmitted to the Governor by the Secretary of State. It may be recalled from the Governor any time before it is acted upon, by a majority vote of the Senate or House, whichever last had possession.

THE FINAL ACCEPTANCE OR REJECTION OF A BILL

If the legislature has not adjourned, the Governor has five days in which to sign the bill, veto the bill, or allow the measure to pass without signature. When the bill is signed, it becomes law; if it is neither signed nor vetoed, it becomes law without signature.

If the bill is vetoed, it returns to the body where it originated, with a veto message. This veto, to be overturned, must have a two-thirds roll call vote in each body. It then becomes law without the Governor’s signature. Without the two-thirds affirmative vote in both bodies, the veto is upheld.

If the Legislature has adjourned, the Governor has five days (excluding Sundays and holidays) in which to sign the bill. If it is not signed, the bill dies. This is the "pocket veto." Each bill carries in its final paragraphs the specific date that it is to go into effect.

For more detailed information and for the source of information for this section please see:

http://www.nh.gov/nhinfo/bills.html

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