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Legislation is initiated by
the Illinois General Assembly comes in two
forms: bills and resolutions. What is the difference between a
bill and a resolution? A bill is “legislation drafted in the form of an Act for introduction into the Senate or the House of Representatives and identified with a bill number. If the bill is passed by both houses and signed by the Governor or otherwise becomes law, it becomes an Act.” The various types of bills that can be proposed are listed below. An act is an “enforceable law of the State. A bill that has passed both houses of the General Assembly becomes an Act through the Governor's approval, inaction, or a veto procedure.” A resolution is an “action, in the form of a formal legislative document, taken by the Senate alone, the House of Representatives alone, or both the Senate and House acting jointly [a joint resolution]. A resolution does not change statutory or constitutional law and is not approved or otherwise acted upon by the Governor (and thus is not a law). The effect of a typical resolution is merely to express the opinion of one or both houses or to take some action short of enacting a law that is within the province of one or both houses. Also, a resolution is typically temporary in character. Some resolutions do have legal effect, such as those relating to recommendations of the Compensation Review Board, school mandate waivers, and the authorization of toll highways.” A constitutional amendment joint resolution is “a joint resolution that proposes to amend the Illinois Constitution. After adoption of the resolution by both houses of the General Assembly, a proposition to amend the Illinois Constitution is submitted to the electors of the State for adoption or rejection at the next general election.” Source: IL General Assembly - Legislative Glossary http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/glossary.asp What different types of bills does the Illinois General Assembly use to initiate legislation? An amendatory bill is “proposes changes to existing statutory law. The law to be changed by a bill is referred to in a Section's introductory clause.” An appropriations bill “authorizes a named governmental entity to expend a certain amount of money from a specific source, such as the General Revenue Fund, for a specific purpose.” A budget bill contains “recommended appropriations of State funds presented by the Governor to the General Assembly for its consideration.” A new or original bill “proposes to create an entirely new law.” A revisory bill “combines multiple enactments, corrects technical errors, and revises, renumbers, and rearranges the law.” A shell or vehicle bill “makes no substantive change in the law.” It is usually initiated as an empty bill, to be filled by amendment at a later time. Source: IL General Assembly - Legislative Glossary http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/glossary.asp What is the process for enacting legislation into law in Illinois?  Source:
IL General Assembly, Legislative Research Unit, http://www.ilga.gov/commission/lru/lru_home.htm
Federal legislation, such as the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset, also affects SUAA members. How do federal legislative actions differ from those taken by the Illinois General Assembly? In Congress, a bill is the form used for most legislation. Bills may originate in either the House of Representatives or the Senate. The exceptions to this rule are revenue and appropriations bills, which by tradition are originated in the House of Representatives; however, the Senate may propose or concur with amendments. “There are two types of bills--public and private. A public bill is one that affects the public generally. A bill that affects a specified individual or a private entity rather than the population at large is called a private bill. A typical private bill is used for relief in matters such as immigration and naturalization and claims against the United States. A bill originating in the House of Representatives is designated by the letters "H.R." followed by a number…. The letters signify "House of Representatives" and not, as is sometimes incorrectly assumed, "House resolution". A Senate bill is designated by the letter "S." followed by its number. The term "companion bill" is used to describe a bill introduced in one House of Congress that is similar or identical to a bill introduced in the other House of Congress.” Joint resolutions “may originate either in the House of Representatives or in the Senate--not, as is sometimes incorrectly assumed, jointly in both Houses. Unlike Illinois General Assembly legislation, there is little practical difference between a bill and a joint resolution and the two forms are often used interchangeably. A joint resolution originating in the House of Representatives is designated "H.J. Res." followed by its individual number…. One originating in the Senate is designated "S.J. Res." followed by its number. Joint resolutions, with the exception of proposed amendments to the Constitution, become law in the same manner as bills.” Concurrent and simple resolutions are initiated for matters affecting the operations of both Houses combined, and either individual House, respectively. They are not similar to a bill; rather they are narrowly used and generally express facts, principles, opinions and purposes of the Houses. They are designated by H./S. Con. Res. Or H./S. Res. and their individual number. Source: Library of Congress, http://thomas.loc.gov/home/lawsmade.bysec/formsofaction.html |
