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Legal Terms - Bill (Act of Parliament)
Bill: A proposed Act of Parliament draft that, in order to become an Act, usually needs to be approved by both Houses. There are two types of bills: public and private. The process via which Parliament passes them mostly relies on this differentiation. A public bill is often one that is introduced by the government or a private member (private member's bill); it usually relates to issues of general concern. The government designates specific Fridays in the Commons for the discussion of private member's bills. The members whose bills will be prioritized on these days are chosen by poll at the start of each legislative session. Without the backing of the government, a private member's bill has little chance of making it through all the stages and becoming law. The Abortion Act of 1967 was proposed by a private member, David Steel, and was successful because it had the backing of the government at the time. This is an example of how the government occasionally wants a private member to sponsor a particularly contentious Bill that they themselves support. Less contentious Bills are introduced in the Lords first; public Bills can be introduced in any House, barring those that are primarily financial. After being read three times and approved, the Bill is submitted by the minister or other responsible member and forwarded to the other House. Its first reading is a formality, but after debating it on the second and third readings, it moves on to committee and report stages, when changes can be made. A bill expires at the conclusion of the session if it is not passed into law; if it is reintroduced in a later session, the entire process must be repeated.
A private bill is one that is presented by a specific individual, local government, or other organization with the intention of benefiting them. The promoter introduces it through a petition, which is preceded by notice to individuals who would be immediately impacted and public advertising. In the first House, it is conducted before a limited group of members during the Committee stage, where arguments in favor and against it are presented. It then proceeds in accordance with the public bill procedure.
A government measure that just addresses local or personal issues and only impacts one of several interests within the same class is known as a hybrid bill.
A hybrid bill might, for instance, nationalize just one of numerous airlines in the private sector. A hybrid bill is first acted upon as a public bill and then considered as a private bill following its second reading in the first House.
Bill: A proposed Act of Parliament draft that, in order to become an Act, usually needs to be approved by both Houses. There are two types of bills: public and private. The process via which Parliament passes them mostly relies on this differentiation. A public bill is often one that is introduced by the government or a private member (private member's bill); it usually relates to issues of general concern. The government designates specific Fridays in the Commons for the discussion of private member's bills. The members whose bills will be prioritized on these days are chosen by poll at the start of each legislative session. Without the backing of the government, a private member's bill has little chance of making it through all the stages and becoming law. The Abortion Act of 1967 was proposed by a private member, David Steel, and was successful because it had the backing of the government at the time. This is an example of how the government occasionally wants a private member to sponsor a particularly contentious Bill that they themselves support. Less contentious Bills are introduced in the Lords first; public Bills can be introduced in any House, barring those that are primarily financial. After being read three times and approved, the Bill is submitted by the minister or other responsible member and forwarded to the other House. Its first reading is a formality, but after debating it on the second and third readings, it moves on to committee and report stages, when changes can be made. A bill expires at the conclusion of the session if it is not passed into law; if it is reintroduced in a later session, the entire process must be repeated.
A private bill is one that is presented by a specific individual, local government, or other organization with the intention of benefiting them. The promoter introduces it through a petition, which is preceded by notice to individuals who would be immediately impacted and public advertising. In the first House, it is conducted before a limited group of members during the Committee stage, where arguments in favor and against it are presented. It then proceeds in accordance with the public bill procedure.
A government measure that just addresses local or personal issues and only impacts one of several interests within the same class is known as a hybrid bill.
A hybrid bill might, for instance, nationalize just one of numerous airlines in the private sector. A hybrid bill is first acted upon as a public bill and then considered as a private bill following its second reading in the first House.
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