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How a bill becomes law and what is the Century Code

How a Bill Become a Law Steps in the Bill Process Bill preparation- the legislative council prepares bills for legislators who introduce the bill. This can happen in conjunction with interested citizens.legislative council Bill introduction- the sponsoring legislator introduces the bill by handing it to the bill clerk when the presiding officer calls for introduction of bills First Reading of Bill (9 th order of business)- the bill clerk assigns a number to the bill and the Chief Clerk (house) or Secretary (Senate) reads the bill by title only Committee Assignment & Introduction- presiding officer refers the bill to the proper committee Committee Discussion and Public Hearing- the bill is explained and discussed, a public hearing is held on every bill Committee Recommendation- the committee then will report the bill to the House or Senate where the bill was originally introduced – Report the bill unfavorable with or without amendment – Report the bill favorably with or without amendment – Report the bill without and recommendation and with or without amendment – Request that the bill be rereferred to another committee with or without amendment Calendar Placement and Consideration of Amendments- All bills are placed on the legislative calendar for final passage. If there is an amendment that is adapted or rejected before the bill is placed on the calendar. Second reading- on the day the bill appears on the calendar, the bill is read again. The bill is debated and then voted on. If the bill passes it goes to the other house. Second House Consideration- if the second house passes the bill, then it is enrolled, signed by presiding officers and sent to the governor. If it is amended and passed in the second house, it is sent back to the first house for concurrence. If the first house does not concur- then the presiding officers of both houses appoint a conference committee. Conference committee- the conference committee discusses bill and makes recommendation to both houses and both houses must approve bill in the same form. The bill is then enrolled, signed by the presiding officers and then sent to the Governor. Bill becomes law on July 1 st if appropriation or revenue measure or August 1 st for other measures. Veto- if the bill is vetoed by the governor, it can still become law by 2/3 vote in both houses Voter’s referral- a bill that has become law can be repealed by a referendum or a vote of the electorate Initiated Measure- a law may also be proposed and acted upon by the electorate through an initiated measure Source:

What is the ND Century Code? The ND Century code includes all general and permanent law enacted since statehood. The numbering system for the Century Code is a three-part number, with each part seperated by a hypen. The first part refers to the title, the second to the chapter and the third to the section. The Century code consists of 65 titles, generally arranged in alphabetical order.ND Century code The Nurse Practices Act is a part of the ND Century Code.Nurse Practices Act Administrative Rules are developed to carry out the purposes and provisions of the Century Code. The administrative rules for the Nursing are at the Board of NursingBoard of Nursing Source: NDNA legislative process overviewhttp:// legislative process overview

ND State Legislature Structure

How are Legislators chosen? What are legislative districts? To serve in the legislature- you must be at least 18 years old, a qualified elector of the legislative district and a resident of ND for one year before the election. 47 legislative districts- each has two representatives and 1 senator

How is the legislature organized during a session? When are sessions? The Legislative Assembly meets in December prior to a session where they receive reports from the interim committees, receive appointments of standing and procedural committees, adopt legislative rules and have a presentation on budget proposals by the Governor. In 2011, the standing committees included agriculture, appropriations, education, finance and taxation, government and veterans affairs, human services, industry, business and labor, judiciary, natural resources, political subdivisions and transportation. The procedural committees included committees, correction and revision of the Journal, delayed bills, employment and rules. There are senate and house committees for each of these and each chamber includes a chair. Committee assignments can be found on the legislative session page under each of the chambers. Source:

How is the legislature organized between sessions? Legislative Management can initiate studies between sessions or study resolutions can be passed by both houses. Legislative Management will then designate committees to carry out interim studies through statutory committees or new committees. Check out the Interim information page for committee assignments, when committee meetings are held and bill drafts.Interim information page Source:

What is Legislative Council? The Legislative council is composed of 17 legislators including majority and minority leaders from both houses and the Speaker of the House and other appointed legislators from both houses. Legislative council includes attorneys, accountants, researchers and auxiliary personnel. Legislative management conducts studies, legal advice and counsel, audit reports, computer services, reference library and supervises publication of the session laws, the ND Century Code and the administrative code Source:

How to contact ND state legislators

How to contact legislators? During legislative session- use or leave a message with the telephone message center at NDLEGIS or Other times use contact information at: ND State Senators ND State Representatives You can look up the legislators for your district at: e=electedOfficials e=electedOfficials

How to Meet with a Legislator? Scheduling the meeting- schedule in advance, call or fax a written request to a scheduler (federal legislator), identify yourself as a constituent and your purpose for the meeting Be on time, keep the meeting focused and limit the number of people you bring, be prepared for interruptions Go with a concrete ask- be specific, prioritize requests, utilize talking points, be prepared, thorough and concise. Do your homework and know the arguments on the other side of the issue. Also, know the cost for implementing your recommendation if possible. Find out how other districts or states have dealt with the issue. Provide written material to leave behind such as fact sheets, position papers, brochures- keep them short and centered on your message Develop trust, don’t lie. If you don’t know the answer tell them that you will get back to them. Personalize the issue by illustrating with a story about how it impacts constituents in their district. Volunteer to be a resource contact with contact information or an up to date buisness card. Always followup with a thank you note and enclose any information that you promised to provide. Invite them to visit your organization. Followup within three weeks of the visit. Source: Tony Richards, Community Healthcare Association of the Dakotas

How to contact the Congressional Delegation

Federal Policy Makers- key differences May meet with the legislator or a staff such as the health care liaison or chief of staff- they can be the best choice for meeting Don’t discuss campaigns with staff and don’t suggest that their help on an issue will help with a contribution- strict laws against this. Source: Tony Richards, Community Healthcare Association of the Dakotas

How to attend a Town Hall meeting. Members of congress host town hall meetings to gather input from their constituents. Sign-up for the alert list for your congressional member’s newsletter, press releases and other notices so that you know when they are planning to come to ND. Learn about the issues and prepare a specific question ahead of time and do your homework on the member of congress including their voting record on your issue. Arrive at the meeting early, determine if there is a place for constituents to sign in and become familiar with Congressional staff. Identify yourself, where you live and who you are representing when you ask your question. Send a follow-up letter to the congressional member, identifying yourself, indicating that you attended the town hall meeting and restate question and issue. Source: Town-Hall-Meetings-August-2010.pdfhttp://test.naccho.org/advocacy/upload/NACCHO-Top-Ten-Tips-for- Town-Hall-Meetings-August-2010.pdf

How to testify?

How to testify before a legislative committee? All citizens have the right to testify before the legislative assembly on any bill or resolution Every bill has a public committee hearing where you can testify. To find a bill and it’s status during the session: Go to the assembly link, find the session and then go to legislation, click on session quick links or major topic index to bills or bill status query.assembly link To find a committee- go to assembly link, find the session and look for the links to house and senate committees and committee hearing schedules.assembly link Make sure you are on time for the hearing, plan your testimony and have a written copy available. Try to coordinate with other’s that might also be testifying. Contact the ND Center for Nursing for help in locating others that may be testifying on nursing issues. Sign the witness sheet at the lecturn. Be present at the start of the hearing and then wait your turn. The chairman will announce the beginning of the hearing for a particular bill, the clerk will read the bill, the legislative sponsor will speak about the bill, and then the chairman will ask for testimony. They will ask for proponents and then opponents. Start your remarks by addressing the chairman and committee members, your name and address and why you are there. Be brief, the hearings are informal so be conversational. Stay away from abbreviations and jargon. Some committees will vote right after the hearing, at the end of the meeting or at the next meeting. Don’t be nervous- legislators are your friends or neighbors who want to hear what you have to say. If you are testifying on behalf of an organization- check the lobbying rules.lobbying rules. All committee meetings are public-so you can always go and listen in. You can also enter and leave the room at any time. Source:

Am I lobbying or advocating?

What is lobbying? ND Century Code defines a lobbyist as “any person who in any manner whatsoever, directly or indirectly, performs any of the following activities: a. Attempts to secure the passage, amendment or defeat of any legislation by the legislative assembly or approval or veto of any legislation by the governor of the state b. attempts to influence decisions made by legislative council or by an interim committee of the legislative council. This does not apply if you are: A legislator A private citizen appearing on their own behalf An employee, officer, board member, volunteer or agent of the the state or a political subdivision acting in an official capacity Invited to appear before the council, interim committee or standing committee to provide information An individual that appears before a legislative committee for the purpose of providing testimony on behalf of a trade, professional organization, business or industry if introduced by the registered lobbyist for that organization

So what is advocacy? Advocacy is identifying, embracing and promoting a cause. This cause could be an appeal to individuals to change their behavior, employers to change rules or the government to change laws. Lobbying refers to specific advocacy effort that attempt to influence legislation. Source: Nonprofit advocacy: A North Dakota toolkit.Nonprofit advocacy: A North Dakota toolkit.