A bill is introduced by a Senator or Assemblymember and is given a number before being sent to the appropriate standing committee.
The members of the committee evaluate bills and decide whether to send them to the floor for a final decision by the full membership of that legislative house. Committees may also request public hearings, propose amendments, hold a bill for consideration, or defeat a bill by voting it down.
If the bill is sent to the floor for a vote, it is placed on a calendar and must “age” for three legislative days before it can be voted on by the legislature. At this point, the voting chamber can; amend the bill (make changes), star the bill (suspended action on the bill until further notice), lay aside the bill (take if off the calendar for that day or put it aside for debate), or request recommittal of the bill (sending it back to a committee).
If the bill is passed in one house, it is then sent to the other house where it is treated as a new bill (same as) and referred to a committee. Once that house passes the bill in the identical form, it goes to the Governor for approval.
During session, the Governor has 10 days (not including Sundays) to sign or veto bills passed by both houses. The Governor’s failure to sign or veto a bill within the 10-day period means that it automatically becomes a law.
Vetoed bills are returned to the house that first passed them, along with a statement of the reason for their disapproval. A vetoed bill can become law if two-thirds of the members of each house vote to override the Governor’s veto.
If a bill is sent to the Governor when the legislature is out of session, the Governor has 30 days to make a decision, and failure to act (pocket veto) has the same effect as a veto.