Simone Lawson
Constitutions are a country's highest form of law and are often considered federal in nature. They are comprised of articles, which are sometimes amended and added to over time. Acts and bills are pieces of legislation that are created and passed by a country's legislative body. In the United States, the first ten amendments to the Constitution make up the Bill of Rights, which was added to limit government power and protect individual liberties. In India, the 73rd and 74th Amendment Acts introduced the system of panchayati raj in rural areas and Nagar Palikas in urban areas.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Bills are introduced in the legislature | Bills are discussed, debated, and voted upon in the legislature |
| Bills are prefixed with H.R. when introduced in the House and S. when introduced in the Senate | Bills are followed by a number based on the order in which they are introduced |
| Bills deal with domestic and foreign issues and programs | Bills appropriate money to various government agencies and programs |
| Public bills pertain to matters that affect the general public or classes of citizens | Private bills affect specific individuals and organizations |
| Acts of Congress are designated as either public laws or private laws | Public laws relate to the general public, and private laws relate to specific institutions or individuals |
| Acts of Congress are enacted by the United States Congress | Acts may apply only to individuals (private laws) or to the public (public laws) |
| Bills become acts when they pass through both houses with a majority | Bills can also become acts if they are unsigned for ten days while Congress is in session or receive a congressional override from 2/3 of both houses if vetoed by the president |
| Acts of Congress can be declared unconstitutional by the courts if they violate the Constitution | A judicial declaration prevents the act from being enforced but does not remove it from the Statutes at Large or the United States Code |
| Bills to amend the constitution are within the annual sequence of public bills | Acts to amend the constitution are outside the annual sequence |
| Bills are mainly used in English-speaking nations formerly part of the British Empire | The US, Canada, Ireland, Brazil, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, and Portugal have different processes for bills |
| Bills are given numbers as they progress | Bills in Australia are not given numbers and are cited by their short titles |
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What You'll Learn
Bills and Acts are part of the legislative process
Bills and Acts are indeed part of the legislative process. The legislative process involves the enactment of laws, which begins with the introduction of a bill in the legislature. A bill is a proposal for a new law or a change to an existing law. It is introduced in the legislature, where it is discussed, debated, and voted upon. Bills can be public, pertaining to matters that affect the general public or classes of citizens, or private, pertaining to specific individuals or organizations.
Once a bill is finalized and passed by the legislature, it moves to the final stage, known as royal assent or, in the case of the United States, approval by the president. In the US, if a bill is passed in identical form by both houses of Congress and signed by the president, it becomes a law or an act of Congress. If the president vetoes the bill, it can still become law if Congress overrides the veto with a two-thirds majority in both houses.
An act of Congress is a statute enacted by the United States Congress. Acts may be public laws, relating to the general public, or private laws, relating to specific institutions or individuals. The word "act," as in "act of Congress," is a common noun and is not usually capitalized unless referring to a specific act.
In other countries, such as the United Kingdom, the monarch signifies approval for a bill to become law, although this royal veto has fallen into disuse. In Ireland, some bills may require approval by referendum, especially those seeking to amend the constitution. Once a bill becomes law, it is typically published in an official gazette, known as promulgation.
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Bills are proposed laws
There are two types of bills: public and private. Public bills pertain to matters that affect the general public or classes of citizens. Private bills, on the other hand, affect specific individuals or organizations. They provide benefits to specified individuals, including corporate bodies, and are often used for immigration purposes, such as granting citizenship or permanent residency. Private bills may also be introduced for individuals with claims against the government, veterans' benefits claims, claims for military decorations, or taxation problems.
Once a bill is introduced, it is assigned to a committee that researches, discusses, and makes changes to it. It is then put before the chamber to be voted on. If the bill passes one body of Congress, it goes through a similar process in the other body, including research, discussion, changes, and voting. After both bodies vote to accept a bill, they must reconcile any differences between the two versions. If both bodies of Congress vote to accept the bill, it must be signed by the president to become a law. However, if the president vetoes the bill, Congress can vote to override the veto, and the bill can still become a law.
It is important to note that there is little practical difference between a bill and a joint resolution, and they are sometimes used interchangeably. Joint resolutions are generally used for continuing or emergency appropriations and proposing amendments to the Constitution. Concurrent resolutions, on the other hand, are used for making or amending rules that apply to both houses and do not have the force of law.
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Acts are statutes enacted by the legislature
A law may also be referred to as an act or a statute. Acts are statutes enacted by the legislature. A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative body, or a law enacted by a legislature. Typically, statutes declare, command, or prohibit something. They are distinguished from court law and unwritten law (or common law) in that they are the expressed will of a legislative body, whether on behalf of a country, state, province, county, or municipality. Statutes are often published in chronological order based on the date of enactment, and in virtually all countries, newly enacted statutes are published and distributed so that everyone can look up the statutory law. Statutes are also referred to as "acts" in some countries. For example, in the autonomous communities of Spain, an autonomy statute is a legal document similar to the constitution of a federated state, enacted by the national legislature.
In the United States, bills are introduced in the House and prefixed with H.R. or in the Senate with S., followed by a number based on the order in which they are introduced. The vast majority of legislative proposals are in the form of bills. Bills deal with domestic and foreign issues and programs, and they also appropriate money to various government agencies and programs. Public bills pertain to matters that affect the general public or classes of citizens, while private bills affect just certain individuals and organizations. A private bill provides benefits to specified individuals (including corporate bodies). When bills are passed in identical form by both Chambers of Congress and signed by the president (or repassed by Congress over a presidential veto), they become laws.
At the end of each session of Congress, public laws are published in annual volumes called the United States Statutes at Large, published by the Government Publishing Office. A more timely resource for finding the text of laws as originally passed by Congress is U.S. Code Congressional and Administrative News (U.S.C.C.A.N.), which is a commercial publication. Like the Statutes at Large, U.S.C.C.A.N. may be available at large public libraries or federal depository libraries. Public laws may be available in large library systems or college libraries, frequently as a part of their participation in the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP). Over 1,100 libraries participate in the FDLP, collecting and/or providing public access to government documents.
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Bills require approval to become law
The process of turning a bill into a law involves many steps and people. Bills are legislative proposals that deal with domestic and foreign issues and programs, and they also appropriate money to various government agencies and programs. Public bills pertain to matters that affect the general public or classes of citizens, while private bills affect specific individuals or organizations.
For a bill to become a law, it must be passed in identical form by both Chambers of Congress and signed by the president. If the president does not approve of the bill, they can veto it. However, Congress can vote to override this veto, and the bill will become a law. If the bill is not signed before Congress is no longer in session, it will be pocket-vetoed, and this cannot be overridden.
Joint resolutions are similar to bills and are usually used for continuing or emergency appropriations. They require approval from both Chambers and the president's signature to become law, except when proposing amendments to the Constitution, which require approval from two-thirds of both Chambers and three-fourths of the states. Concurrent resolutions are used to make or amend rules that apply to both houses and do not require the president's signature or have the force of law.
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Acts are designated as public or private laws
Bills are designated as public or private laws. The vast majority of legislative proposals are in the form of bills. Bills deal with domestic and foreign issues and programs, and they also appropriate money to various government agencies and programs. Public bills pertain to matters that affect the general public or classes of citizens, while private bills affect just certain individuals and organizations. A private bill provides benefits to specified individuals (including corporate bodies).
Private bills may be introduced for individuals who have claims against the government, veterans' benefits claims, claims for military decorations, or taxation problems. The title of a private bill usually begins with the phrase, "For the relief of. . . ." If a private bill is passed in identical form by both houses of Congress and is signed by the president, it becomes a private law. When bills are passed in identical form by both Chambers of Congress and signed by the president (or repassed by Congress over a presidential veto), they become laws.
Public laws are often abbreviated as "Pub. L. No. X–Y". When the legislation of those two kinds is proposed, it is called a public bill and a private bill, respectively. The word "act", as used in the term "act of Congress", is a common noun. The United States Code capitalizes "act". The term "act of Congress" is sometimes used in informal speech to indicate something for which getting permission is burdensome.
An act of Congress that violates the Constitution may be declared unconstitutional by the courts. A judicial declaration that an act of Congress is unconstitutional does not remove the act from the Statutes at Large or the United States Code; rather, it prevents the act from being enforced. However, the act as published in annotated codes and legal databases is marked with annotations indicating that it is no longer good law.
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Frequently asked questions
A bill is a proposed law that is introduced in the legislature, discussed, debated, and voted upon. Bills can be public or private. Public bills pertain to matters that affect the general public or classes of citizens, while private bills affect certain individuals or organizations.
Once a bill is passed by the legislature and signed into law by the head of state, it becomes an act or a statute. Acts may be public or private. Public acts relate to the general public, while private acts relate to specific institutions or individuals.
For a bill to become an act, it must pass through both houses of Congress with a majority, then be signed into law by the head of state (e.g. the president in the U.S. or the monarch in the U.K.). If the bill is vetoed by the head of state, it can still become a law if it receives a congressional override from two-thirds of both houses.
Yes, acts can be part of the Constitution. In some countries, such as Ireland, a referendum is required to amend the Constitution. In the U.S., joint resolutions are used to propose amendments to the Constitution and must be approved by two-thirds of both Chambers and three-fourths of the states.
Yes, through the process of judicial review, an act of Congress that violates the Constitution may be declared unconstitutional by the courts. While the act remains in the Statutes at Large or the United States Code, it is no longer enforceable and is marked with annotations indicating that it is no longer good law.
