Submitted by Faisal Akbar

Semester 4th(A)

Subject Constitutional law of US

Submitted to Prof Hidayat ur Rahman

Q. Comparative analysis of legislative procedure in
US congress and the British Parliament similarities,
difference, and implications for democratic
governance?

Legislative procedure in British Parliament:- A bill is a

proposed law which is introduced into Parliament. Once a bill has been debated and
then approved by each House of Parliament, and has received Royal Assent, it
becomes law and is known as an act. Any Member of Parliament can introduce a bill.
Some bills represent agreed government policy, and these are introduced into
Parliament by ministers. Other bills are known as Private Members’ Bills. This guide is
about bills which affect the general law of the land. Special Parliamentary procedures
apply to bills which apply only to particular people or places, and the government may
have little or no involvement in this type of legislation. Bills and acts are often referred to
as primary legislation. An act may delegate power to a government minister to make
regulations, orders or rules. These are known as secondary (or subordinate) legislation.

Decision to legislate:-For each session of Parliament the government will have a

legislative programme, which is a plan of the bills that it will ask Parliament to consider
in that session (the period between elections is divided up into sessions, and each of
those sessions usually lasts about a year). Other bills may be passed each session that
are not part of the legislative programme. These may for example be emergency bills
required to deal with a particular issue that has arisen, or they may be Private Members’
Bills, introduced by a member who is not a part of the government. If a government
department has a proposal for a bill that it wants to be included in the legislative
programme for a session, it must submit a bid for the bill to the Parliamentary Business
and Legislation (PBL) Committee of the Cabinet. PBL Committee will consider all of the
bids for that session and make a recommendation to Cabinet about the provisional
content of the programme. In considering whether to recommend that a bill should be
given a provisional slot, PBL Committee will consider factors such as the need for the
bill (and whether a similar outcome can be achieved by secondary legislation or without
legislation), its relationship to the political priorities of the government, the progress that
has been made in working up the proposals for the bill and whether the bill has been
published in draft for consultation. Once the provisional programme has been agreed by
Cabinet, PBL Committee will review it in the lead-up to the beginning of the session.
About a month before the start of the session the Cabinet will finalise the programme.
This will be announced in the King’s Speech at the state opening of Parliament, which
begins the session. The policy contained in the bill will also need agreement from the
appropriate policy committee of the Cabinet.

Preparation of the bill

If a bill is given a slot in the legislative programme, the department concerned will create
a bill team to co-ordinate its preparation and passage through Parliament. This will
consist of a bill manager and other officials working on the bill. The other key players in
the department will be the officials with lead responsibility for the policies in the bill and
the department’s legal advisers.

The policy officials will prepare policy instructions for the departmental lawyers. These
instructions will in turn form the basis of instructions to the Office of the Parliamentary
Counsel to draft the bill. Instructions to counsel will set out the background and relevant
current law and explain the changes in the law to be brought about by the bill. There will
usually be at least two counsel assigned to the bill, and larger bills may well have more
drafters. They will analyse the instructions and may have questions that need to be
answered before drafting can begin. Once the drafters feel they have a clear idea of the
policy, they will send drafts to the relevant departmental lawyers. The lawyers will
discuss the drafts with the relevant policy officials and send comments back.

The first draft of a clause or set of clauses for a topic is rarely the final word on that
topic, and the process of drafting and commenting on drafts will continue until the
drafters and the department are happy that the right result has been achieved by the
draft in the clearest possible way.

Some provisions in a bill may require input from departments other than the one
sponsoring the bill. If the provisions of the bill apply to Wales or extend to Scotland or
Northern Ireland, it may also be necessary for the department or the drafter to consult
the devolved administration in the relevant part of the UK. Provisions in a bill which
relate to matters that have been devolved to Senedd Cymru, the Scottish Parliament or
the Northern Ireland Assembly will usually need the consent of that body.

Towards introduction
Although a bill may have a slot in the legislative programme, it cannot be introduced
until it has been specifically cleared for introduction by a meeting of PBL Committee.

The committee will consider the final (or near-final) draft of the bill together with a range
of other documents. Some of these, like the Explanatory Notes, will be published
alongside the bill after introduction. Others, like the department’s Parliamentary
Handling Strategy and its assessment of the relationship between the bill and the
European Convention on Human Rights, are for the committee’s consideration only.
If PBL Committee is satisfied that the bill is ready and that other legal and procedural
issues have been resolved, it will approve its introduction subject to any necessary
minor and drafting changes. The committee may also decide whether the bill should
start in the House of Commons or the House of Lords (see further below).

Some bills are published in draft for consultation before introduction. The bill may then
go through a process of pre-legislative scrutiny where it is considered by a
Parliamentary committee or committees. The committee will take evidence and make
recommendations to the government on the bill. These recommendations, together with
the consultation responses from members of the public, may mean that elements of the
bill are modified before introduction. Publication of a bill in draft still needs the
agreement of PBL Committee, although it will normally be cleared by correspondence
rather than at a meeting.

Parliamentary Stages
Most bills can begin either in the House of Commons or in the House of Lords. The
government will make this decision based on the need to make sure each House has a
balanced programme of legislation to consider each session. However, certain bills
must start in the Commons, such as a bill whose main aim is the imposition of taxation
(the annual Finance bill is an example of this). Bills of major constitutional importance
also conventionally start in the Commons.

Most bills will need to go through the following stages in each House before becoming
law (what is said below applies to either House except where indicated).

First reading
This is a purely formal stage at which the title of the bill is read out. There is no debate
on the bill.

Second reading
This is a debate on the main principles of the bill, held in the chamber. A government
minister will open the debate by setting out the case for the bill and explaining its
provisions. The opposition will respond and then other members are free to discuss it.
The government will close the debate by responding to the points made. No
amendments can be made to the text of the bill at this stage, although members may
give an idea of the changes they will be proposing at later stages. At the end of the
debate the House will vote on the bill. If the vote is lost by the government, the bill
cannot proceed any further, though it is rare for a government bill to be defeated at this
stage.
Committee stage
This is a line-by-line consideration of the detail of the bill. In the Commons this process
may be carried out by a specially convened committee of MPs (a Public Bill Committee)
that reflects the political composition of the House as a whole. Alternatively committee
stage may be taken in the chamber (in which case it is called Committee of the Whole
House). In the Lords the committee stage will take place in the chamber or a committee
room in the Palace of Westminster; either way any peer can participate. A Public Bill
Committee in the Commons can take oral and written evidence on the bill. In either
House the committee will decide whether each clause of the bill should remain in it, and
will consider any amendments tabled by the government or other members. The
amendments tabled may propose changes to the existing provisions of the bill or may
involve adding wholly new material. However, there are limits to what can be added to a
particular bill, as the amendments must be sufficiently close to its subject matter when
introduced. Government amendments to bills (in committee or at other stages: see
below) may be changes to make sure the bill works as intended, may give effect to new
policy or may be concessionary amendments to ease the handling of the bill.
Amendments in the last category will respond to points made at an earlier stage or will
have been tabled to avoid a government defeat at the stage in question. Unless the
amendments are purely technical in their effect, they will need the agreement of PBL
Committee before they can be tabled, and substantial changes in policy will need policy
clearance too.

Report stage
In both Houses this stage takes place in the chamber. Only amendments are discussed,
so if none are tabled this will be a purely formal stage. As in committee the amendments
may change what is in the bill already or may involve new provisions being added.
Report stage is also referred to as Consideration in the Commons.

Third reading
In the Commons this is another general discussion of the bill which invariably takes
place immediately after report. No amendments are possible. In the Lords, third reading
will take place on a later day, and tidying up amendments can be tabled.

Later stages
Both Houses must agree on the text of a bill before it can become an act. This means
that if the bill is amended in the second House, it must return to the first House for those
amendments to be considered. The first House can reject the amendments, make
changes to them or suggest alternatives. A bill may move backwards and forwards
between the two Houses a number of times before agreement is reached, so this stage
is often called “ping pong”. The time taken to go through all of these stages depends on
the length of the bill, how controversial it is and whether it needs to be passed
particularly quickly. An emergency bill may be passed in a matter of days, whereas a
larger bill may be introduced at the beginning of the session and only passed at the end
a year later.

Royal Assent and beyond

A bill that has been passed by both Houses becomes law once it has been given Royal
Assent and this has been signified to Parliament. It will then become an act. Even then
the act may not have any practical effect until later on. Most provisions in an act will
either come into operation within a set period after Royal Assent (commonly two months
later) or at a time fixed by the government. This gives the government and those people
who are directly affected by the act time to plan accordingly. The government may need
to fill in some of the details of the new scheme by making regulations or orders under
powers contained in the act, for example to deal with procedural matters.Three to five
years after a bill has been passed, the department responsible for the act resulting from
it should review how it has worked in practice and submit an assessment of this to the
relevant Commons departmental committee. The committee will then decide whether it
wants to carry out a fuller post-legislative enquiry into the act.

Legislative procedure in US(United state) parliament:-

Legislative process in a nutshell:-

 First, a Representative sponsors a bill.
 The bill is then assigned to a committee for study.
 If released by the committee, the bill is put on a calendar to be voted on, debated or
amended.
 If the bill passes by simple majority (218 of 435), the bill moves to the Senate.
 In the Senate, the bill is assigned to another committee and, if released, debated and
voted on.
 If the Senate makes changes, the bill must return to the House for concurrence.
 The resulting bill returns to the House and Senate for final approval.
 The President then has 10 days to veto the final bill or sign it into law.
INTRODUCTION AND REFERRAL TO COMMITTEE
Any Member in the House of Representatives may introduce a bill at any time while the
House is in session by simply placing it in the “hopper” at the side of the Clerk’s desk in
the House Chamber. The sponsor’s signature must appear on the bill, which may have
an unlimited number of cosponsoring Members. The bill is assigned its legislative
number by the Clerk and referred to the committee of jurisdiction, which is the
committee charged with review of the bill.

COMMITTEE HEARINGS AND REPORTS

The House of Representatives divides its work among over twenty permanent
committees. After a bill is introduced and referred to the committee of jurisdiction, the
committee will often send the measure to its specialized subcommittee(s) for study,
hearings, revisions, and approval. Usually, the first step in this process is a public hearing
where the committee or subcommittee members hear witnesses representing various
viewpoints on the measure. After hearings are completed, the bill is considered in a
session that is popularly known as the “mark-up” session. At this point, amendments
may be offered to the bill, and the committee or subcommittee Members vote to accept
or reject these changes. At the conclusion of deliberation, a vote of committee or
subcommittee Members is taken to determine what action to take on the measure. It
can be reported, with or without amendment, or tabled, which means no further action
on it will occur. Tabling effectively “kills” the measure. If the committee has approved
extensive amendments, they may decide to report a new bill incorporating all the
amendments. This is known as a “clean bill,” which will have a new number. A measure
Is ready for consideration by the full House after it has been reported by a committee.

DEBATE AND VOTE ON THE HOUSE FLOOR

Consideration of a measure by the full House can be a simple or very complex
operation. Sometimes, consideration may be governed by a “rule.” A rule is itself a
simple resolution, which must be passed by the House and that sets out the particular
rules of debate for a specific bill (i.e. how much time will be allowed for debate, whether
amendments can be offered, and other matters). Debate time for a measure is normally
divided between proponents and opponents. Each side yields time to those Members
who wish to speak on the bill. When amendments are offered, these are also debated
and voted upon. After all debate is concluded and amendments decided upon, the
House votes on final passage. In some cases, a vote to “recommit” the bill to committee
is requested. This is usually an effort by opponents to change some portion or table the
measure. If the attempt to recommit fails, a vote on final passage is ordered. Votes may
be taken by the electronic voting system, which registers each individual Member’s
response. These are referred to as recorded votes, and are available in the record of roll
call votes. Votes in the House may also be by voice vote; in that instance, no record of
individual responses is available.
 SENATE ACTION
After a measure passes in the House, it goes to the Senate for consideration. This
includes consideration by a Senate committee or subcommittee, similar to the path of a
bill in the House. A bill must pass both bodies in the same form before it can be
presented to the President for signature into law.

RESOLVING DIFFERENCES
If the Senate changes the language of the measure, it must return to the
House for concurrence or additional changes. This back-and-forth negotiation may
occur on the House floor, with the House accepting or rejecting Senate amendments or
complete Senate text. Often, a conference committee will be appointed with both
House and Senate Members. This group will resolve the differences in committee and
report the identical measure back to both bodies for a vote. Conference committees
also issue reports outlining the final version of the measure.

CONSIDERATION BY THE PRESIDENT

After a measure has been passed in identical form by both the House and Senate, it is
considered “enrolled.” The enrolled bill is sent to the President who may sign the
measure into law, veto it and return it to Congress, let it become law without signature,
or at the end of a session, pocket-veto it.
 Similarities and difference for democratic governance:-
British political systems is that the USA is a presidential system, with the apex of power in a
President elected indirectly through an Electoral College, whereas the UK is a parliamentary
system, with the Prime Minister holding office and power only so long as he or she commands a
majority of votes in the House of parliament. Congress and Parliament both play an important
part in the US and the UK. The Houses of Parliament is the meeting place of the House of
Commons and the House of Lords. They get together to discuss important issues and to make
new laws. Laws are the rules that everyone has to follow.
In the US, Congress does the job. Like Parliament, Congress is split into two parts – the House of
Representatives and the Senate. It’s based at the United States Capitol – a big building with a
huge dome, right at the top of Capitol Hill in Washington DC. Both Houses are directly elected
by the American people. They decide who gets a seat. Each state has two members of the
Senate, who are called Senators, and at least one member of the House of Representatives,
who are called Representatives. The number of Representatives a state has depends on how
many people live there. The more people that are living there, the more Representatives they’ll
have. In the UK, the House of Commons is also directly elected. People vote for the person they
like the best or who they think will do the best job. Whilst the US is split into states, the UK is
divided into lots of areas called constituencies. Each constituency has its own Member of
Parliament – or MP – who looks after the interests of the people who live there. But things are
a little bit different in the House of Lords… who gets a seat here is decided by the Government.
They’re allowed to promote people to the House of Lords if they think their experience and
expertise will be useful. This is a quite unique system. It probably wouldn’t be designed this way
nowadays but it’s been like that for hundreds of years. The people in the House of Lords are
called Peers and are given the title Lord or Baroness, depending on if they’re a boy or a girl.
Representatives are elected to serve for two years, while senators are elected for six years. The
elections happen at different times so there’s not a complete change all at once. Members of
Parliament are elected to serve for five years. Voting happens at the same time so there’s a
whole new House of Commons after each election. But in the House of Lords, once you become
a Peer, you’re a Peer for life. Although some choose to hand back their title if they feel they’ve
not got enough time to do the job or they’re getting too old. Representatives must be at
least 25 years old, have been a US citizen for 7 years, and must live in the
state they represent. Senators must be at least 30 years old, have been a US
citizen for 9 years, and must also live in the state they represent. MPs must
be at least 18 years old and be a British, Irish or Commonwealth citizen, but
there are no restrictions on where they can stand. To sit in the House of
Lords, you must be at least 21 years old and be a British, Irish or
Commonwealth citizen too. One other key difference is that its Congress’ job
to introduce new bills – even those that the President is behind. But in the
UK, most bill are introduced by the government. Only a small number of bills
are put forward by Members of Parliament.

Implication for democratic parliament:-

Parliament and Congress Are Not the Same In the United States, Congress is the legislative, or
law-making, branch of government. But wait, isn’t the United Kingdom’s Parliament also a
legislative body? Absolutely. However, there are massive differences. Imagine the U.S.
congressional system as a three-legged stool – one leg is the executive branch, one is the
legislature, and one is the judiciary.

The President and the Prime Minister:- At the top of the British pillar of
Parliament is the Prime Minister. He or she is referred to as the ‘Head of Government,’ and the
Prime Minister is exactly that. They are not the head of state, which means that they are not
the leader of the people, that is the monarch. Instead, they rule the government. In fact, rule is
actually a very good word for how this arrangement works.

Judiciary
A vast gulf of difference exists between the judicial systems of each country, and it is one that is
often swept under the rug. In the United States, the courts are charged with interpreting the
law, and viewed as the equal of the executive or legislative branches. As a result, they have
plenty of oversight, and can even strike down laws as unconstitutional, or not being legal
according to the court’s views on the existing laws of the country.

Lesson Summary (Conclusion):-

In this lesson, we compared the systems of democracy in the United States and the United
Kingdom. We learned that the United States has a three-branched government that is
dependent on checks and balances, while the United Kingdom instead uses Parliament,
supported by the idea of parliamentary sovereignty. While the president is the head of state as
well as head of government in the United States, that office does not have the same power as
the British Prime Minister, which is effectively an elected dictator.