The Protection of State Information Bill, for example, is one of the most controversial pieces of legislation in post-apartheid South Africa. The bill triggered unprecedented protest by civil society and the media. There were close to committee meetings - public hearings and deliberations - on this bill, making it one of the most consulted bills since It took Parliament days to pass this Bill.
It is not always a negative outcome if a bill is fast tracked. In some cases, the expedient passage of a Bill may be a necessity. An urgent Bill or one introduced in response to a crisis may be passed in a matter of days. Not surprisingly, Money Bills those that deal with budget appropriations, taxes, levies are processed quicker in 55 days than section 74 89 days , 75 days and 76 bills days. They arrive at a set time each year and are usually prioritised ahead of any other parliamentary business.
Prior to the last 12 months, no serious attempt has been made by MPs to use the Money Bills Amendment Procedure Act to amend budget bills. An Ad Hoc Committee has now been established to look into the time frames and sequencing associated with Money Bills. In view of this, we can expect the number of days for processing these to increase. Once a bill has been passed by both Houses of Parliament, the translation into one other official language of the final bill is updated by the State Law Adviser and translators at the Department of Justice and submitted to the Bills Office at Parliament.
The translation is thoroughly checked against the English text. Any corrections are discussed with the translator at the Department of Justice. Once satisfied with the translated text, the Act proofs English and translation on corresponding pages is printed. It is drafted by the relevant department or task team and the relevant parliamentary committees may propose amendments or other proposals.
After this, it is sent back to the Ministry for further discussion, input and final decisions. In exceptional circumstances Parliament may make provincial laws to maintain national security, maintain economic unity, establish minimum standards for service delivery, or to prevent unreasonable action by a province which affects the interests of another province or the country. It is a draft version of a law.
Most Bills are drawn up by a government department under direction of the relevant minister or deputy minister. This kind of Bill must be approved by the Cabinet before being submitted to Parliament. As soon as a Bill is introduced in Parliament it needs to be classified into one of the 4 categories mentioned above by the Joint Tagging Mechanism JTM. These office-bearers are assisted by the parliamentary legal advisors.
The President is not a member of Parliament. After an MP is elected as President, he or she loses the seat and the vacancy is filled by the next eligible person from the same party. Presidential proclamations are statements that address the public on policy matters. They are mainly symbolic and are usually not enforced as laws. Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government and makes laws for the nation.
Congress has two legislative bodies or chambers: the U. Senate and the U. House of Representatives. Anyone elected to either body can propose a new law.
A bill is a proposal for a new law. A bill can be introduced in either chamber of Congress by a senator or representative who sponsors it.
Once a bill is introduced, it is assigned to a committee whose members will research, discuss, and make changes to the bill. If the bill passes one body of Congress, it goes to the other body to go through a similar process of research, discussion, changes, and voting. Once both bodies vote to accept a bill, they must work out any differences between the two versions. Then both chambers vote on the same exact bill and, if it passes, they present it to the president.
The president then considers the bill. The president can approve the bill and sign it into law or not approve veto a bill. If the president chooses to veto a bill , in most cases Congress can vote to override that veto and the bill becomes a law. But, if the president pocket vetoes a bill after Congress has adjourned, the veto cannot be overridden.
The Senate and the House have some procedural differences between them. How a bill becomes law when it originates in the House of Representatives. How a bill becomes law when it originates in the Senate. Active legislation in the Senate. Congress creates and passes bills. The president then may sign those bills into law. Federal courts may review the laws to see if they agree with the Constitution.
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