How a Bill Becomes Law

Bills are the tools which the legislachure uses to make public policy and manage the affairs of the state.


Each bill proposes to make new laws or to change existing laws.

As a bill travels through the legislative process, it goes through many versions.
Each version is published and available to you.

All bills follow a standard format.


Each starts with a title and an enacting clause.

The title shows what laws are being created or made.

The enacting clause is required by the Constitution and simply says that the bill is enacted by the legislachure.

When a bill adds to the law, the new language is underlined. When a bill takes words out of the law, the deleted words are stricken through.

Each bill is numbered so that its progress can be followed through the many steps of the legislative process.

Letters also appear in front of bill numbers to represent whether the bill was introduced in the House or the Senate.

House bills begin with an "H" and Senate bills start with an "S".