Florida’s legislative session kicks off this week. As lawmakers head to the Capitol, WFSU is taking our listeners back to the classroom with our Florida Legislature 101 series. Think of it as a Quick Guide to the Process. In this story we'll look into exactly how a bill becomes a law.
If you remember the old School House Rock song you've already got a good primer on the basics.
Bills start as ideas, become written proposals, are debated in committee, and if passed in both chambers go on to the governor. Then, unless they’re vetoed, those bills finally become a law.
As it turns out, making it through that process is the complicated part.
“Every year in Florida thousands of bills are filed, but the reality is only a small fraction, sometimes just a couple hundred actually make it past the finish line,” says Florida State University Professor and Public Affairs Specialist Drew Piers.
Piers says what makes one bill versus another move forward in the process can vary. He says that can be anything from "who’s running the bill, to what is the political climate, to what is the need?”
Piers says another factor could be the influence of a new presidential administration. He says that's the case this year.
“You know, we’ve gotten a new president and he’s got new priorities," Piers says. "He won Florida in the country and he’s now looking at enacting his agenda, and it’s clear that the legislature in Florida is looking at supporting that.”
The special sessions lawmakers held earlier this year are evidence of that. Part of the language used in the calls for each session makes it clear lawmakers intended to pass legislation aimed at supporting the Trump administration and the president's crackdown on illegal immigration.
How do legislators decide what should be a law?
Legislative ideas also come from students, or community members, lobbyists, political organizations, and Piers says they sometimes come from other states.
An example of that is Marsy's law.
The proposal, which creates a list of rights intended to protect crime victims, started as a measure passed in California. Years later, a nationwide campaign led several states, including Florida, to pass versions of the same bill. Now Marsy's law is part of Florida's constitution.
Once a bill is written, the measure is assigned to committees for review. Not every bill will be taken up for discussion. The few that are will face vetting and debate by a panel of lawmakers. Typically members of the public have the opportunity to share their views.
If a bill passes through the full committee process it then has a shot at discussion on the House and Senate floors where an identical version of the same bill must receive a majority of the votes to pass on to the governor.
The Governor can sign the bill, allow it to become law without his signature, or veto the bill. A veto can be overturned by a two-thirds vote of both chambers.
According to former Deputy Director of External Affairs for the Governor’s Office Jimmy Hickey, a governor’s decision to put pen-to-paper isn’t made lightly.
“This entire time it’s public, so the Governor’s got his eye on everything that’s been submitted from the upcoming members," Hickey says. "So, I would say if he’s being handed the bill, he’s already decided, and probably already publicly announced that he’s either gonna veto it, or sign it.”