How Bills are Introduced in Washington A SelectSmart.com Flowchart by harader3014d To print this page, right mouse click, open "Print preview", "Print" or a similar option depending on your browser, then use the controls to size this page appropriately. Go to SelectSmart.com/flowchart/flowchart.php?id=1000123 for the original version of this flowchart. Find and create other free decision making tools at SelectSmart.com. Use our interactive selectors to find the best college, best career, right religion, most appropriate dog breed, best college major and more.

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My flowchart will both answer a question and explain how the bills are introduced.                 Anyone can suggest an idea of a law. But only the legislators can introduce a bill to the state legislature. If the legislature believes that the bill would make a good law, he/she presents the bill to either the senate or the house. When the bill reaches the senate or the house, it is given a number and read aloud. After that the bill goes to a committee. The committee studies the bill and may hold public hearings on it. Anyone can testify for or against the bill. Also, after the hearing, amendments can be made to the bill. The committee can then pass, reject, or they can let they bill "die" by not taking any further action on the bill. The committee report on the passed bill is then read in an open session of the House or Senate. Then the bill is referred to the Rules Committee. When it reaches the rules committee, the bill is assigned a certain day that the legislators talk and discuss the bill. Or, the rules committee can take no action at all. If the legislators pass the bill, it is reviewed once more by the rules committee.At the second reading, a bill is subject to debate and amendment before being placed on the third reading calendar for the final vote. When the bill is finally passed by one of the houses, it has to move on to the other house. The bill must then go through the same process of voting and discussing again. If the bill is accepted by the other house, it is signed by the houses leaders and the bill is sent to the governor. When the bill reaches the governor, any citizen can contact the governor to voice their opinion on the bill. The governor then reviews the bill. If the governor signs the bill, it becomes a law. But, if the governor does nothing, the bill becomes a law in five to ten days. Also, the governor can reject the entire bill or little parts of the bill. However, the legislature can cancel the governors veto. But to do this, a two-thirds majority of both houses is needed.