Re: new law bans driving in left lane, $250 fine... (left lane for passing only)
Posted by:
wuhtz
()
Date: October 23, 2014 08:11AM
RESton Peace Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> "Apparently there's going to be a new law banning
> driving in left lane"
>
> Allow me to take you through the Democratic
> process for our fine state, since you have
> apparently come to the conclusion that proposed
> legislation is as good as final:
>
> --------------------------------------------------
> --------------------------------
> Drafting &
> Introducing
> a Bill In Virginia
>
>
> A General Assembly member tells the staff of the
> Division of Legislative Services (DLS) what needs
> to be accomplished by the proposed legislation.
> The DLS staff checks existing law and the
> constitutionality of the proposed legislation. A
> bill is drafted (written) and given to the member
> for introduction.
>
> The member who introduces a piece of legislation
> is called the patron or sponsor. The patron is
> responsible for guiding his or her legislation
> through both houses. Members or members-elect may
> introduce legislation in accordance with the Code
> of Virginia and the schedule for the conduct of
> business established by the General Assembly.
>
> A procedural resolution that establishes the
> schedule for the conduct of business for each
> session is agreed to by both houses at the
> beginning of each session. This schedule sets
> certain deadlines for the introduction and
> consideration of legislation throughout the
> legislative process.
>
> Current law allows members to prefile bills with
> the Clerk of their respective body no earlier than
> sixty days before the beginning of a session in an
> even-numbered year (such as 1996, 1998, etc.), but
> bills may be prefiled up to 180 days prior to the
> beginning of a session in an odd-numbered year
> (such as 1997, 1999, etc.). According to the Code
> of Virginia, bills relating to charters, claims,
> tax-exempt property, additional expenditures by
> localities, retail sales and use tax exemption,
> the Virginia Retirement System, or those having a
> fiscal impact on the Department of Corrections
> must be introduced no later than the first
> calendar day of any session, unless otherwise
> specified.
>
>
> Bill Referred to Committee
>
>
> A committee is a group of legislators organized
> for the purpose of considering and deciding upon
> the disposition of a bill or resolution.
>
> In the House of Delegates
> Upon introduction, the Clerk of the House of
> Delegates assigns a number for each bill and sends
> the legislation to the Speaker of the House. The
> Speaker refers the bill to a committee. It is
> ordered to be printed and the original bill is
> delivered to the committee clerk. The members of
> the 20 standing committees are appointed by the
> Speaker of the House of Delegates and have from 5
> to 22 members.
>
> In the Senate
> The bill is assigned a number by the Clerk of the
> Senate, who refers it to a committee. The Rules of
> the Senate specify the subject areas to be
> considered by each committee. For example, a bill
> relating to the inspection of motor vehicles would
> be referred to the Committee on Transportation,
> and after the bill has been referred, it is
> printed and the original bill is delivered to the
> committee clerk. There are 11 committees in the
> Senate and all have 15 members, except the Finance
> Committee which has 17 members. Committee members
> are elected to each committee by the Senate at the
> time the Senate organizes every four years.
>
> Committee
> Meeting/Action
>
>
> Committee Meeting
> The committee system is an integral part of the
> legislative process. The committee meets to hear
> reasons why the bill should be reported to the
> Senate or the House of Delegates. The patron is
> usually the first to speak. The public also has an
> opportunity to voice support or opposition to a
> bill. Any citizen of the Commonwealth has the
> right to attend a committee meeting and speak
> about legislation.
>
> In conducting business, standing committees are
> governed by the rules of their respective body.
> The list of bills assigned to the committee is
> called the docket. The chairman of the committee
> determines which bills on the docket will be
> considered at its meeting.
>
> Committee Action
> After the committee hears the patron and any other
> witnesses, the committee has several options when
> the chairman calls for a vote. One of the
> following actions may be taken and recorded by the
> committee clerk:
>
> 1. Report: The majority of the committee approves
> of the bill and it is reported to the floor. The
> bill may be reported 1) without amendment, 2) with
> amendment(s), or 3) with an amendment in the
> nature of a substitute. A bill may also be
> reported and referred to another committee using
> this method.
>
> 2. Pass by Indefinitely (PBI): This action allows
> the committee to reconsider the legislation prior
> to the deadline established by the procedural
> resolution that sets the schedule for
> consideration of bills.
>
> 3. Defeat: The committee rejects a motion to
> report the bill, and there is no further action by
> the committee.
>
> 4. Continue/Carry Over: A bill introduced in an
> even-numbered year session may be continued or
> carried over to an odd-numbered year session for
> further action or study during the interim. A
> carry-over bill retains its assigned bill number
> in the odd-numbered year session. A bill may not
> be continued or carried over from an odd-numbered
> year session to an even-numbered year session.
>
> 5. Pass by for the day: The committee is not ready
> to act on the bill. If the bill is not taken up
> before the deadline, then it is considered Left in
> Committee or No Action Taken.
>
> 6. No Action or Left in Committee: No motion is
> made on the bill and it dies at the time of the
> committee action deadline.
>
> 7. Incorporate into other Legislation: The bill is
> incorporated, or included into another bill
> through an amendment or a substitute. The bill may
> have similar language or duplicate language with
> the same intent.
>
>
> First Reading
> a Bill
>
>
> The Virginia Constitution requires that the title
> of each bill be read three times or appear in the
> printed Calendar on three different days.
> Legislation reported from the Committees (Senate
> bills from Senate committees, House bills from
> House committees) appears on the Calendar under
> the category of Senate Bills on First Reading in
> the Senate or House Bills on First Reading in the
> House of Delegates.
>
> To assist each body in conducting business, the
> Clerk publishes a Calendar for each day the body
> meets. The Calendar is a document listing the
> number and the title of each bill before the body.
> The bill numbers and titles are divided according
> to the reading which should take place during the
> session for that day, i.e. Third Reading, Second
> Reading, and First Reading. Since each body has
> different legislation before it, the Calendar for
> the House is not the same as the Calendar for the
> Senate.
>
> House legislation, when first received by the
> Senate after passage in the House of Delegates,
> receives its first reading and is referred to the
> appropriate Senate committee. Likewise, Senate
> legislation, when received by the House of
> Delegates after passage in the Senate, receives
> its first reading and is referred to the
> appropriate House committee.
>
> Second Reading
> For Senate legislation in the Senate or House
> legislation in the House of Delegates, the bill's
> second reading is also referred to as the
> "amendable stage." On this reading, committee
> amendments are usually taken up first and adopted
> or rejected by the body. Sometimes there are so
> many amendments to a bill that an "amendment in
> the nature of a substitute" is reported by the
> committee. After consideration of any committee
> amendment(s) or substitute(s), the body considers
> any floor amendment(s) or floor substitute(s)
> which may have been offered by a member of the
> body. At this point, debate is limited to
> discussion on the amendment(s) or substitute.
>
> In the House of Delegates
> When the House has House bills on second reading,
> the Clerk reads the title, and the House debates
> and votes on any amendment(s) or substitute(s).
> Following this, the House of Delegates debates the
> merits of each bill as it may be amended, and
> votes whether to engross the bill and advance it
> to third reading. If a bill fails to be engrossed
> and advanced to its third reading, the bill is
> defeated.
>
> In the Senate
> When the Senate has Senate bills on second
> reading, the Clerk reads the title of each bill,
> and the Senate debates and votes on any
> amendment(s) or substitute(s). The Senate then
> considers the motion to engross the bill and
> advance it to its third reading.
>
> Votes on amendments or substitutes are usually
> voice votes. When the votes are close and the
> presiding officer, the President of the Senate or
> Speaker of the House of Delegates, cannot
> determine which side prevails, a division or a
> vote is taken.
>
> After the consideration of any amendment(s) or
> substitute(s), a bill is ordered to be "engrossed"
> and advanced to its third reading. Engrossing
> means incorporating any amendment(s) which may
> have been adopted by the body. Once the amendments
> are adopted, the engrossed bill is printed. If the
> bill has no amendments, the bill, as introduced,
> becomes the engrossed bill. If the body adopts a
> "substitute," the substitute becomes the engrossed
> bill. There is no further printing, unless a floor
> subsitute is adopted.
>
> Legislation of the other body, i.e. House bills in
> the Senate or Senate bills in the House of
> Delegates, is not considered amendable on second
> reading. This legislation, having been reported
> from a committee, is listed in the Calendar the
> next day. Committee amendments are not shown in
> the Calendar until the legislation is on third
> reading. Debate on amendment(s) to legislation of
> the other body takes place on third reading.
>
> Third Reading
> The Constitution requires that for a bill to
> become law there should be a recorded vote on the
> passage of the legislation. This means that every
> legislator who voted on the question: "Shall the
> bill pass?" is shown in the public record as
> voting "Yea", "Nay", or "Abstain" pursuant to the
> rules of each body and the laws of the
> Commonwealth.
>
> In the House of Delegates
> On votes on passage in the House, members vote
> "Yea" if they are in support of a bill and "Nay"
> if they are against a bill. If a member wants to
> "abstain", he invokes or "votes" Rule 69
> indicating that he is present for the vote but has
> a specific, personal interest in the outcome of
> the bill.
>
> In the Senate
> The merits of the bill are debated by the Senate
> prior to voting. On the vote on passage members
> vote "Yea" if they are in support of the bill and
> "Nay" if they are against a bill. If a member
> wants to abstain, he invokes or "votes" Rule 36
> indicating that he is present for the vote but has
> a specific, personal interest in the outcome of
> the bill.
>
>
> Bill Communicated
> to Other Body
> for Approval
> The Constitution of Virginia establishes a
> bicameral legislature that requires each body of
> the General Assembly to pass legislation in
> exactly the same form before it can be sent to the
> Governor to become law.
>
> Upon passage of legislation, bills and the action
> taken regarding them are communicated to the other
> body. Usually, communications are delivered to the
> other house at the beginning of each day and
> contain all of the previous day's actions.
>
> Senate legislation which is defeated on the floor
> of the Senate is not communicated to the House of
> Delegates. House legislation which is defeated on
> the floor of the House is not communicated to the
> Senate.
>
>
> Legislation in
> the Other Body
> Legislation, when initially received by the other
> body, is read a first time and referred to the
> appropriate committee. If the committee reports
> the bill to the floor, it is on its second
> reading. When the bill is on third reading, any
> amendment(s) or substitute(s) will be considered,
> and the passage of the bill is debated and voted
> on.
>
> If the other body also passes the bill without
> amendment(s), it is enrolled and communicated to
> the Governor, since it has passed both the House
> of Delegates and the Senate in the same form.
>
> If a Senate bill is passed by the House of
> Delegates with amendment(s) or with a substitute,
> the bill and the changes must be communicated to
> the Senate, so that the Senate will be in a
> position to consider the changes proposed by the
> House. If the Senate agrees to the changes
> proposed by the House, the bill, with the changes,
> is enrolled and sent to the Governor. If the
> Senate does not agree to the changes, a Committee
> of Conference may be formed to resolve the
> differences between the House and the Senate. If a
> Committee of Conference is not formed, the bill
> fails to pass.
>
>
> Conference
> Committee
> This is the process to resolve differences
> between the houses of the General Assembly when
> legislation is passed in different forms. Each
> Committee of Conference consists of an equal
> number of Senators and Delegates. If an agreement
> is reached, the terms of the agreement are
> reported to each body. If each house agrees to the
> report, the changes agreed to in the Committee of
> Conference are incorporated into the bill and the
> "compromise" bill is enrolled and sent to the
> Governor. If the Committee of Conference cannot
> agree or the report is rejected by either body,
> the bill dies.
>
>
> Governor
> For any bill presented, the Constitution of
> Virginia provides the Governor with three options:
> sign, veto, or offer amendments. The Governor may
> also veto one or more items in an appropriation
> bill. If the Governor does not act on a bill, it
> becomes law without his signature.
>
> During the regular or special session, the
> Governor has seven days to act on bills presented
> to him. If there are fewer than seven days
> remaining in the General Assembly session, or if
> the General Assembly has adjourned, the Governor
> has thirty days after adjournment to act on
> bills.
>
> If the Governor recommends amendments to or vetoes
> a bill, and the General Assembly is still in
> session, the General Assembly can consider the
> Governor's action.
>
> When the General Assembly receives recommended
> amendments or vetoed legislation from the
> Governor, it is sent to the house of origin, i.e.
> House bills are sent to the House of Delegates and
> Senate bills are sent to the Senate. There are
> various constitutional options available to the
> General Assembly:
>
> A. The Governor's amendments can be agreed to or
> rejected. If the amendments are agreed to by both
> houses, the amended bill is reenrolled and becomes
> law. Governor's amendments may be rejected and the
> original bill sent back to the Governor where it
> may be signed as originally presented or vetoed.
> The house of origin, having rejected a Governor's
> amendment, can pass the bill as originally
> presented to the Governor by a vote of two-thirds
> of the members of each body.
>
> B. The Governor must submit amendments in a form
> that allows the General Assembly to act on each
> amendment individually. The General Assembly may
> accept or reject part of the amendments. The bill
> is then returned to the Governor with the
> amendments agreed to by the General Assembly. The
> Governor may approve or veto the bill as amended.
> If the Governor does not act, the bill will become
> law without his signature.
>
> C. If either house of the General Assembly
> determines that the Governor's amendments are not
> specific and severable (able to be acted upon
> individually), that house may refer the bill to
> committee and the bill will be treated as if it
> was just introduced. If the bill is then passed by
> the General Assembly, it is enrolled and sent back
> to the Governor for approval or veto.
>
> D. The Governor's vetoes may be upheld or
> overridden. If the veto is upheld, the bill dies.
> The vote to override a Governor's veto requires a
> two-thirds vote of both the House of Delegates and
> the Senate.
> --------------------------------------------------
> --------------------------------
>
> Nowhere in there does it say that a proposed bill
> will absolutely become a law. This bill is merely
> under consideration. Also, laws in VA do not
> become active until the July after which they are
> passed, so we have a while to worry about it even
> if it does.
tl;dr