How a Bill becomes a Law

1. By Emina DeAngelis and Lynn Cortella

2. Know the steps of how a bill becomes
a law.
Understand the intent of and current
status of National Nursing Shortage
Reform and Patient Advocacy Act
Discuss positives and negatives of U.S.
Legislative System
Learning Objectives

3. Executive
Legislative
Judicial
Branches of Government

4. President
Vice President
and Cabinet
The President has
the power either
to sign legislation
into law or to
veto bills enacted
by Congress.
Executive Branch

5. The House of
Representatives &
The Senate
Both the House and the
Senate must pass the
same bill by majority
vote. If the President
vetoes a bill, they may
override his veto by
passing the bill with at
least two-thirds of each
body voting in favor of
the bill.
Legislative Branch

6. Supreme Court Judges
Federal courts enjoy
the sole power to
interpret the
law, determine the
constitutionality of
the law, and apply it
to individual cases.
Judicial Branch

7. Nurses working together
decide a need for change
They draw up a bill with
the help of a consultant
How a Bill Becomes a Law

8. The Bill-National Nursing
Shortage Reform and
Patient Advocacy Act
Nurses present bill to a
legislator
What’s in it ?
 Establish safe nurse-to-
patient ratios
 Better prepare nurses for
work in a hospital setting.
 Report violations of
minimum standards of
care
GettingTheWord Out

9. The legislator is
willing to introduce
and sponsor the bill The Bill is introduced to
Congress and
assigned a number
S 739
(S =Senate Bill)
(H.R = House of
Representatives Bill)
Getting the Bill to Congress
Governor Sandra Boxer

10. Committees decide :
which bills move
forward to the House
or Senate as a whole.
Committee consider bills and
issues and recommend
measures for consideration by
their chambers.They usually
specialize in certain areas
such as HEALTH
BILL-S739 referred to
Committee on Senate
Health, Education,
Labor and Pensions on
April 16th 2013 and
remains here presently
To Committee

11. COMMITTEE CAN
Approves the Bill
Rewrite the Bill:
Kill the Bill:
What Happens Next
The Bill then goes to
congress for a vote
The Bill is rewritten then
moved on to Congress
Committee decides to
throw out the bill - Bill
dies in Committee

12. CONGRESS PASSES BILL CONGRESS DOES NOT PASS BILL
DEBATE ANDVOTE BY CONGRESS
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13. If the President signs the Bill
it becomes a LAW
If the President vetoes the Bill
it goes back to CONGRESS
THE PRESIDENT DECIDES
Click

14. Vote to over ride the
Presidents veto and pass the
bill by 2/3rds MajorityVote in
each House of Congress
Decide not to Pass the Bill and
the Bill Is
DISCARDED
Congress Can
2/3VOTE 1/3VOTE
C
L
I
C
K

15. BILL BECOMES A LAW

16. LETS SEEWHAT WE HAVE LEARNED

17. 1. Choose a partner and read through the slides of “how laws are
made”
2. List each step and write in a blank flow-chart being sure to capture
the correct order of the steps
3. Each group should write a story about “the life of a bill”, tracing all
steps until it becomes a law
4. The groups should get back together and create a chart with two
sides to list “what’s good and what’s bad” about our current bill to
law system.
5. At the end of the assignment reconvene and decide if we should
keep our system or revise it. If a revision is decided upon, document
suggestions for possible revisions.
Mapping TheWay…. student activity

18. 1.Which Branch of
Government
reviews the Bills
and sends them to a
committee?
The Judicial
The Executive Branch
The Legislative Branch
InteractiveTest
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19. 2.What happens
next after Congress
approves the Bill for
the first time ?
It becomes a law
It goes to the
President for
approval
It goes to the
legislator that
introduced the law
InteractiveTest
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20. 3.What is a
Committee?
A group of individuals that
come up with a Bill
Congress members that
consider bills and issues and
recommend measures for
consideration by their
chambers.
The president and his
cabinet members
InteractiveTest
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21. 4. How is a Bill
introduced to
Congress
By a legislator that will
sponsor a Bill
By the President of the
United States
By a group of individuals
that see a need for
change
InteractiveTest
Advance to next Question

22. 5. What is the
National Nurses
Shortage Reform and
Patient Advocacy Act
A law requiring safe
nurse to patient ratios
A bill that died in
Congress
A Bill currently being
reviewed in a committee
requiring safe staffing in
hospitals
InteractiveTest
Advance to next screen

23. CORRECT ANSWER- Back toTest

24. INCORRECT ANSWER-Try Again

25. Click Here

26. Click Here

27. Get Involved- Go to a town board
meeting, visit your local legislature, learn
more about government
Find out more about the Bill in our
presentation : National Nursing Shortage
Reform and Patient Advocacy Act visit :
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/
s739#summary/libraryofcongress
Anyone Can Make a Difference

28. Branches of Government · House.gov retrieved from
http://www.house.gov/content/learn/branches_of_government/
Government 101: How a Bill Becomes Law - ProjectVote Smart retrieved from
http://votesmart.org/education/how-a-bill-becomes-law
GovTrack.us:Tracking the U.S. Congress retrieved from http://www.govtrack.us/
Shi, L., Singh, D, A. (2008). Delivering health care in America: A systems
approach ( 4th ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Barlett Publishers.
The Legislative Process : How a Bill Becomes a Law and LegislativeTerms
Retrieved from www.mentoring.org/downloads/mentoring_1278.pdf
References: