By Clifford Ndujihe

Given the tasking processes  bills go through to become law, the number of rejected bills is indeed worrisome. The processes of law making generally requires a long period of deliberation and consideration of the many interests and implications of the bill. The processes are as follows:

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Stage One:  – The need for a bill is identified. The bill can be a new one, introducing a new idea not yet covered by an existing law or an amendment to an existing law

A bill can be initiated by anybody but only a Member of the House or a Senator can introduce it on the floor of the House or the Senate. Bills are grouped into three categories: Executive, Member and Private Bills.

When a bill is prepared by the Executive, it has to be forwarded to the Speaker of the House and the Senate President with a cover letter from the President. A bill from Members of the House of Representatives is presented to the Speaker while the one from Senate is presented to the Senate President. Bills from the Executive branch of government can at times be discussed concurrently (i.e. at the same time) in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Bills from the member and private individuals are always discussed in the chamber of its origin first before it is sent to the other chamber for passage.

Some bills can receive accelerated consideration i.e. on the same day based on their urgency and significance for government policy. In that case, rules of the House/Senate are to be suspended for easy passage. Examples of such bill that might receive accelerated hearings are the ones that are needed to enable the president take urgent action on matters relating to national security.

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Stage two

First Reading: – The Clerk of the House/Senate usually does the reading of bills scheduled on the House/Senate Calendar (a schedule indicating the day and the time each bill will receive reading). S/he reads the short title of the bill for the first reading and then proceeds to “table” it (places the bill on the table before the Speaker/Senate President).

Second Reading:  – Bill is debated by lawmakers at this stage. Debate commences with a motion by the Senate or House Leader that the bill be read the second time, if it is an Executive Bill. The motion must be seconded (supported) by any of the other parties’ leaders. When it is not seconded, the bill cannot be debated but in most cases, Executive bills are allowed, as a matter of courtesy to proceed to a second reading.

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However, if the bill is by a Member of the House or the Senate, the sponsor of the bill would move the motion that it be read the second time. The motion must be seconded (supported) by another Member of the House or Senate. Also, when a bill by a Member cannot get the support of another Member in the House or Senate, it cannot be debated and hence stands rejected.

If accepted, after the debate on the general principles of the bill, it is referred to the appropriate Standing Committee as determined by the Senate President or Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Committee stage: – The committee assigned to deliberate on a bill examines it more critically at this stage The House and the Senate have two types of committees. The first one is the Committee of the Whole House and the second is the Standing Committees.

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If the Committee of the Whole House is to discuss a bill, the Deputy Speaker of the House acts as the chairperson. In the case of the Senate, the Senate President acts as the chairperson of the Committee of the Whole House and thus presides over the Committees sittings.

Committees examine all aspects of the bill clause-by-clause and point-by-point. They also organise public hearings on the bill. This may take place at the National Assembly the National Assembly Complex or any other area or location the Committee deems appropriate. Any member of the public or expert(s) having interest in the bill may be allowed to attend the public hearing and make contributions to the public debate of the bill.

After the committee has concluded its work, it will report back to the Whole House/Senate in plenary with or without amendments. Whether it is the Standing Committee or the Committee of the Whole House that considered a bill, at committee stage, chairperson is expected via a motion to report progress on the bill. Mutadis Mutadi (all things being equal) a clean copy of the bill is prepared by the Clerk of each chamber.

Third Reading: –  After the report of the Committee and the deliberation of the Committee of the Whole House, a motion may be moved that the bill be read the third time either immediately or at a later date and passed after each chamber has certified the contents of the clean copy to be accurate.

Stage three

When a bill has been read the third time and passed, a clean printed copy of it, incorporating all amendments will be produced, signed by the Clerk and endorsed by the Speaker/Senate President. The copy will then be forwarded to the Clerk of the House or Senate as the case may be. The copy will be accompanied with a message requiring the concurrence (passage of the bill or agreement) of the receiving chamber (House or Senate). In the case of the Executive bill, both chambers will just exchange copies of the bill since they both received copies and discussed the bill almost the same time.

When a bill is sent to either chamber for concurrence, three things may happen:

(i) The receiving chamber may agree with the provisions of the bill and hence pass it.

(ii) The chamber may not agree to some part of the bill and hence make amendments.

(iii) The chamber may not agree with the bill at all and therefore reject it in its entirety. This situation is however rare and has never been witnessed in Nigeria.

In the event of the second situation, the Chamber from which the bill originated may agree with the amendments or recommendations. But if the amendments are not agreeable to the Chamber, then a Conference Committee of the two chambers will be constituted to work out any disagreement.

Joint Conference Committee

The Joint Conference Committee is normally constituted when there are differences in a bill passed by both legislative chambers. Membership of the Committee is based on equality, usually six members from each chamber with a senator acting as chairperson.

The mandate of the Committee is to harmonise the differences between the two chambers on the bill. They cannot introduce any new matter into the bill at the joint conference committee. The decision of the committee on those areas of differences is bidding on the chambers. Failure to accept the decision of Joint Conference Committee may lead to a joint sitting of both the Senate and the House with the Senate President presiding on the area of contention.

The report of the Joint Conference Committee is presented in both Chambers for consideration. If both Chambers adopt the report, all the original papers are sent to the Clerk of the Chamber where the bill originated. The Clerk puts together all the amendments and produces a clean copy of the bill which is sent to the Clerk of the National Assembly who then sends it to President for his signature.

Stage four: –  This is the last or second to the last stage of the process. Here the President is involved in the act of law making by signing bills into laws. A bill does not become law until the President signs it. The Clerk of the National Assembly will “enrol” the bill for the President’s signature. Enrolment is the production of a clean copy for the assent of the President.

Stage five: – If the president withholds assent, another stage sets in. The President has thirty (30) days to sign a bill sent to him/her by the National Assembly. If s/he disagrees with the provision of the bill or some aspects of it, s/he can veto by withholding his/her signature. Within the 30 days the President must communicate to the National Assembly his/her feelings and comments about the bill. The President must state the areas S/he wants amended before s/he signs the bill. If the National Assembly agrees with the President the bill can be withdrawn for deliberation on the amendments suggested by the President.

Overriding veto: – The National Assembly is empowered by the Constitution to overrule the veto of the President. If, after 30 days, the President refuses to sign the bill and the National Assembly is not in support of the President’s amendments, the two Chambers can recall the bill and re-pass it. If the bill is passed in the form it was sent to the President by two-third majority vote in both Chambers, the bill automatically becomes a law even without the signature of the President.

Vanguard