Texas Legislature

How a Bill Becomes Law

This is how a bill goes if it originates in the House, then goes to and through the Senate in the same fashion. A bill could originate in the Senate, then go through the House. Or a bill could originate in the House and a similar bill in the Senate, then the one that goes the farthest gets chosen, sent to the other side of concurrence. If it is not concurred upon, then the originating house sets up a conference committee. Once accepted, the bill is “enrolled” and then signed by the speaker in each house and sent to the governor for signing. Perhaps the most important steps of all, in both sides, is getting the bill out of the initial committees that the bill was referred to.