The main job of Parliament is to make new laws or change (amend) existing laws. A “Bill” is a proposal for a new law, or a change to an existing law. Any Member of Parliament can introduce a Bill for the Parliament to consider. Bills may be introduced in either the House of Assembly or the Legislative Counci,l but must be passed by both Houses before becoming law.
Legislation
This flowchart shows the passage of a Bill through Parliament. A Bill can start in either House of Parliament, by any Member of Parliament.
Image Credit: Parliament of South Australia
First Reading
A “reading” today means that the Clerk of the House reads out the long title of the Bill. Before we had printers and photocopiers, and when not all Members were literate, the Clerk actually read the whole
Bill out loud. These days the first reading takes about 20 seconds.
Second Reading
The second reading is where the Members debate the Bill. The Member introducing the Bill goes first, with a speech explaining the purpose of and reasons for the Bill. After this speech finishes, the second reading is usually held off (adjourned) until a future date. This gives the other Members a chance to consider their position on the Bill and decide if they wish to speak. Sometimes if a Bill is urgent, the speeches from other Members might happen on the same day. The second reading can go over days, weeks, or months, depending on how many Members want to speak.
When everyone has had a chance to speak, the Members vote on whether the Bill is read a second time. If the vote fails, the process ends here. If the vote passes, the Bill moves to the next step. Learn more about votes in parliament.
Committee of the Whole
This stage is usually called “the Committee stage”, but this label comes from “Committee of the Whole.” The House works as a committee of the whole House to go through each clause (section) of the Bill. This is where changes, called amendments, can be made to the Bill. Members must vote on every change, and vote on if clauses are agreed to. There can be many votes in the Committee stage. Learn more about votes in parliament. This stage can skipped if there are no amendments or questions about the Bill.
Sometimes Bills might need further investigation, and they might be sent off to a smaller Committee for an inquiry. Learn more about Committees.
Third Reading
This stage involves a vote about whether the Bill should pass the House. If the vote fails, the process ends here. If the vote passes, the Bill moves to the next step. Learn more about votes in parliament.
Transmission to the Other House
If the Bill has passed in one House, it needs to be sent over to the other House of Parliament for the process to be repeated. The Houses communicate with each other by sending messages, delivered by the Clerks. If the other House agrees to the Bill with no changes, the Bill is passed.
If the other House makes a change, it must go back to the first House for its agreement. Sometimes Bills need to go back and forth a few times before both Houses can agree.
If the Houses cannot agree, the first House may propose a “Conference” where Members of both Houses meet in private in an attempt to reach agreement. The result of the Conference is reported to the two Houses by their Managers.
If the Houses still can’t agree the Bill is “deadlocked” and cannot progress no further. There is a process for a deadlock in the South Australian Constitution.
Royal Assent
The Bill is then presented by the Speaker or President to the Governor of SA, who gives Royal Assent to the Bill. This is when the Bill becomes a law (an Act, or Statute) of the Parliament.
Types of Bills
There are different types of Bills. These are some of the terms you may see:
- Government Bill: A Bill introduced by a Minister
- Private Members Bill: A Bill introduced by a Member who isn’t a Minister
A Bill may introduce a new law, change (amend) an existing law or remove (repeal) a law.
Regulations / Delegated Legislation
Parliament can pass laws to give (or delegate) power to make regulations to other bodies – like Ministers, Councils, or the Courts. Regulations are also known as “legislative instruments” or “delegated legislation”.
The matters that are covered in delegated legislation are usually administrative – like fees, information that needs to go on forms, or other items that change frequently. These are small matters that would take up a lot of the Parliament’s time, so it is more efficient for the Parliament to delegate it.
The Parliament keeps the right to “disallow” any delegated legislation and checks on the use of its delegated power through Committees.