IN BRIEF: In Zone One, legislation is introduced by a Member of Congress and referred to the appropriate Congressional committee. Most legislation is not acted upon by the committee and essentially dies at this stage. In Zone Two, the committee holds a hearing on the legislation that does not vanish into legislative obscurity. Hearings are open to the public and usually include both public sector witnesses as well as witnesses from a department or agency of the Executive Branch of the federal government. The committee may then choose to "markup," or change the legislation and then approving it. For most legislation, this progress on the legislative path can begin in either the House or the Senate. For the sake of explanation, this handbook assumes the legislation begins to move in the House. Once it is approved by committee, it moves to Zone Three, where it is debated and voted on by the full House. If approved, it is sent to the Senate in Zone Four, where it must be approved by committee and passed by the full Senate. Any differences between the House and Senate versions of the legislation are resolved in Zone Five, where a conference committee reports a final version of the legislation to the House and Senate. This "conference report" version of the legislation must be approved by the House and Senate in Zone Six, and then sent to Zone Seven for approval or veto by the President. If approved, the legislation becomes law.
ZONE ONE: INTRODUCING LEGISLATIONLegislation may be introduced in either the House or Senate. For purposes of this handbook, however, it is assumed that legislation is first introduced in the House.
Once legislation has been drafted, it is ready to be introduced. Any Member as well as the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico and the various delegates may introduce legislation. In the House, this is done simply by placing the proposed legislation in the "hopper" provided for that purpose at the House Clerk's desk. Printed forms are normally used for this purpose, but they need not be used. The Member introducing the legislative proposal need not make a statement on the House floor when this is done. However, they may request permission of the House to place a statement in the section of the Congressional Record called "Extension of Remarks."
Senators submit their proposals and any accompanying introductory statements to the Senate Clerk, or they may introduce the proposal from the Senate floor. Any introductory statements accompanying the legislation or made on the Senate floor are included in the main section of the Congressional Record.
A. Single Referral
Upon introduction, the House and Senate Parliamentarians, acting on behalf of the Speaker of the House and the Presiding Officer of the Senate, refer the legislation to the appropriate committee which has jurisdiction over the proposal. This is called a single referral.
B. Joint or Multiple Referral
If the subject matter of legislation cuts across the jurisdictions of two or committees, the bill may be referred to more than one committee. This is called a joint or multiple referral.
C. Sequential Referral
If it is referred first to one committee (which sometimes is required to act within a specified time period) and then to one or more other committees (which get jurisdiction only after the first committee has acted), it is called a sequential referral.
D. Split Referral
Legislation may also be referred to two or more committees at once, with each committee having jurisdiction over only a portion of the bill. This is called a split referral.
In the case of joint or sequential referrals, the committees to which the bill has been referred may take differing action with respect to the proposal. For example, one committee may approve (or report out) the bill while another may disapprove it. For this reason, legislation subject to multiple referrals often have a more difficult time making their way through the legislative process.
