Skip to main content
HomeHow a bill becomes a law in Massachusetts

How laws are enacted in Massachusetts

 

The Massachusetts Legislature makes our state laws. Its official name is the General Court. It is made up of the House of Representatives (160 members) and the Senate (40 members). It meets for two-year sessions. Formal meetings for the 2023 – 2025 session began on January 1, 2023 and will end on July 31, 2025. The Legislature’s website is http://www.malegislature.gov./

 

This chart shows the basic steps for how a “bill” (a proposed law) becomes a law. It is a complicated process. A bill can die at many steps along the way. Thousands of bills are filed each session but usually only several hundred become law. Most bills are never voted on. For those that are voted on, the date is not set in advance. Instead, the Legislature schedules a vote

after a bill has made it through the necessary steps.

 

 

 

Step 1: Bill is filed

Any legislator or the governor can file a bill. If a member of the

House files the bill, it will be given a number such as “H.123.” If a member of the Senate files the fill, it will be given a number such as “S.123.” You can look up most bills on the legislature’s website.

Step 2: Bill goes to

a committee

Most bills about health care finance issues go to the Joint Committee on Healthcare Financing. It is made up of seven senators and 13 representatives. There are two co-chairs – one senator and one representative. New committee members are appointed each session.

Step 3: Committee

hearing

The committee holds a public hearing on each bill. Usually many

bills are scheduled for the same hearing (typically based on a subject area). Anyone can attend the hearing, testify for or against a bill, or submit written comments about their views on a bill.

Step 4: Committee

decision
  • ●If the committee agrees with the bill, it gives it a “favorable

    report.” The bill moves to the next step.

  • ●If the committee disagrees with a bill, it can give it an “unfavorable report,” which usually kills the bill.
  • ●Sometimes a bill is sent to a “study committee” for further consideration. In most cases, this kills the bill.
  • ●The committee can also write its own bill by redrafting other bills that were filed.

Step 5: Further

committee(s) review

After a bill is favorably reported out of the Committee on Health Care Financing, it will be reviewed by other committees. Bills that require public funding are sent to either the House or Senate Ways and Means Committee but are often sent to Bills in Third Reading. Before a bill can be considered by the full House, it must go through the House Committee on Steering, Policy and Scheduling. Before a bill can be considered by the full Senate, it must go through the Senate Committee on Ethics and Rules. Many bills die during the committee review process.

Either Step 6 or Step 7 can happen next. The order doesn’t matter, as long as both the House and Senate pass the bill.

Step 6:

House considers

bill The House of Representatives can make changes to a bill, called “amendments.” The House must approve a bill twice before it can advance. If the House passes the bill first, it moves on to the Senate. If not, the bill dies for that session.

Step 7:

Senate considers

bill The Senate can also make changes to the bill. Like the House, the Senate must also approve a bill twice. If not, the bill dies.

Step 8:

Conference

committee If the House and Senate pass different versions of the bill, then three members from each body meet to work out an agreed upon version. The compromise version must then be approved as is by both the House and Senate by July 31, 2016. If not, the bill dies.

Step 9:

Bill sent to

Governor The governor has 10 days to approve the bill and sign it into law. If He/she signs it, the bill becomes law. If the governor doesn’t agree with the bill, he/she can send it back to the legislature with amendments or he can “veto” (reject) the bill. If the governor takes no action, the bill becomes law after 10 days.

Step 10:

If needed, bill

goes back to

legislature The legislature can vote to approve or reject the governor’s amendments and send the bill back to the governor. The governor can then sign or veto the bill. The legislature can override a governor’s veto by a vote of two-thirds of the members of both the House and Senate. The bill then becomes law.

Step 11:

Bill takes effect Most bills go into effect 90 days after the governor signs them into law. However, the legislature can include a statement saying that the bill addresses an emergency situation and that it will go into effect immediately upon signing.