Laws come from bills and there is a process that must be followed before they can be accepted. First in this procedure is the presentation to the Senate or to the House of Representatives. After which, a committee decides whether the bill could become a law or if it shouldn't. On condition that they choose the former, the next step would be an on the floor title reading of the chamber. The Rules Committee then makes a second reading if the bill passes the chamber. The Rules Committee also only reads the title of the bill. They can then send back the bill, which lowers all of its chances to be passed, or send it for a third reading.
During the third reading, amendments can be made on the floor. This could also be time to pass the bill. For this to happen, at least 17 senators and 40 members of the House of Representatives must approve of the bill. It is then passed on to a second chamber where the same procedure is followed. If approved again, both chambers that handled the said bill must make its final amendments. This could be done by the second chamber's agreeing to the changes made by the first chamber and vice versa or by a conference committee, with members coming from the two chambers, of doing the concluding editing if none of the two agree to follow the changes made by the other.
The next step is the enrollment of the bill where it is thoroughly proofread. If no more revisions need to be made, the presiding officer signs it and sends it to the governor. Ten days is given to the governor to act on a bill and he can sign it, pass it without his signature or kill it. If a bill is vetoed, it is sent back to the General Assembly that can still pass the bill with the requirement of a majority vote from members of the two chambers that handled it.
These are the basic steps that are followed in the United States to turn a bill into a law. If you are thinking of becoming a lawmaker, familiarize yourself with these.
Keywords: law, constitution, senators, chambers