Introduction
The legislation involves the preparation and enacting of laws that govern how certain activities are run. A legislative body conducts this process with legislative authority and powers accorded to it by the constitution. The lawmaking process ensues through evaluation, amendments, and voting for or against the proposed changes. Ideas and suggestions become items of proposition when they are drafted and written down as a bill. The purpose is to change the laws governing given specific areas and provide clarity on what is required. The enacting of such bills becomes Acts or statutes, making them binding. Every enactment process and procedure works under a constitution that controls and guides every action throughout legislation until a bill becomes law (Steele, 2020). Different states and governments have different ways and procedures that lead to enacting a statement to law. Therefore, businesses like any other field need rules and patterns that guide, protect, regulate, and hold businesspeople accountable.
United States Congress
Drafting and Bill Introduction
Any congress member with the idea that can become law can draft a bill of the intended amendments. The member can either be from the Senate or the House of Representatives or be a Senate member. The congress member can either bring up the ideas themselves or come to ordinary citizens or groups of people such as advocacy groups. A member who supports a bill is a ‘sponsor.’ Other members in support of the same are ‘co-sponsors.’ Upon drafting, the bill must go through an introduction in the respective House. If the sponsor is a representative, the opening will happen in the House, and if the sponsor is a senator, it will take place in the Senate. When both houses have introduced the bill, and upload goes to the government’s website, whose purpose is to track federal legislation.
Committee
A committee receives the bill when the introduction process ends. The Senate and the House both have committees having congress member groups. The interest of these groups is exceptionally diverse topics relating to different aspects affecting people. Now having the bill in their custody, the team examines whether it has a chance of being passed by Congress. The committee can hold hearings to understand better the possible impacts of the bill. It allows for views from experts, supporters, public officials, and opponents to consider its legislation. In cases where the committee does not act on a specific bill, it losses relevance. A subcommittee does further specialization needed for particular topics. The aim is for them to review and to have detailed studies and more hearings.
Bill Mark up
The committee holds a meeting after the completion of hearings and reviews to ‘mark up’ amendments. Through this, they can have modifications and changes before they give recommendations to the ‘floor.’ If a decision is arrived at through voting that they will not report on legislation to the Congress, the bill is discarded. But if the vote is in its favor, a report is given to the House. It will create room for additional debate; full chamber members then vote for approval or disapproval of the amended bill. The voting determines its defeat or whether the committee will pass it.
Referred to another Chamber
Upon passage, there is a referral to another chamber where they follow the same procedure and legislative routines. The Chamber can either approve without any changes, reject it, make changes to it or ignore it. Congress may form a conference committee to develop solutions that reconcile differences in the bill versions of the Senate and the House. The bill dies if the Conference Committee will not reach an agreement. There is an agreement, a report having recommendations is prepared for the bill, and both houses should approve the Report.
President Approval
When the Senate and House approved a bill uniformly, the president receives a copy. The president can support it by signing, therefore, enacting it. If he does not take any action for ten-day, and the Congress was in session, it becomes law. But if Congress was not in session, there is a ‘pocket veto.’ If he opposes it, Congress may veto it, but if the House and Senate, by a majority of two-thirds, pass the bill, they overrule it.
Virginia General Assembly
When a bill originates from the House of Delegates, a delegate will introduce the bill. He presents it by explaining the idea and suggestion in mind to an attorney of staff. The attorney goes through the existing laws in line with the constitutional stand of the same and the possible implications of the proposed legislation through the presentation. If the idea is not controversial with the guiding constitution, the division of legislative services drafts it. The delegate receives the draft copies of the bill. When the representative receives the manuscripts, he has to sign his or her name and introduce it by having both the original and the duplicates on the clerk’s desk. The process of printing happens, and the Speaker refers the copies to the standing committee. The role of the committee members is to have a discussion and vote for or against it (McLaughlin et al., 2016). They report on their conversation and conclusion to the House of Delegates. At this stage, the committee is not allowed to make any amendments to the draft.
After the committee gives the Report, the First Reading takes place. It prints the bill’s title and adds it to the calendar, or the House of Delegates clerk reads it. On the second reading, the bill title is on the House Calendar. Consideration given to the Bill is dependent on the order of its appearance. The clerk also reads the title at this stage, therefore, opening the floor for amendment. The delegate answers to questions asked. The representatives, through a voice vote, engross it to the next reading (McLaughlin et al., 2016). In cases where it was passed without any amendments and is adopted later, the committee prints its engrossed form to allow for passage. On the third reading, it also appears on the calendar, and the clerk reads the title, passed through recorded votes.
The delegate or the clerk transfers the bill to the Senate, indicating that it has the bill House passed it, therefore requesting the Senate’s concurrence. While in the Senate, the process is the same as that of the House of Delegates. It goes through the first, second, and third reading before a constitutional majority passes it (McLaughlin et al., 2016). In cases where differences arise, a committee conference is put in place to resolve the differences. After this, the committee prints an enrolled copy, and each presiding house officers examine and sign the bill. For approval, the team sends a copy to the governor. The governor can sign the account making it law, make amendments to the bill, and send it to the General assembly to approve it or veto the bill (McLaughlin et al., 2016). The Senate and House of Delegates may choose to override the governor’s veto. Before its approval, the House of Delegates should be it to the House of Approval to go through all the necessary readings when the bill is from the Senate.
Pending Bills Affecting Business
Small Business Mergers, Acquisitions, Sales, and Brokerage Simplification Act of 2021
This bill has been introduced and is still being taken through the legislative process. It is subject to the consideration of the committee before being referred to the House and Senate. The bill targets to amend the existing Act of Security Exchange. The aim is to have brokers connected to the transfer of smaller private companies from registration. One is disqualified from this exemption if their activities contradict the purpose of the amendment. For example, if the person engages in transferring ownership for an eligible private company, it directly or indirectly financing for a private company.
If the bill is enacted, more brokers will get into business because there is the process of registration is made simpler. With the increase of brokers, many small companies are likely to merge or be acquired by another. Merging allows for the growth of companies and businesses because of the synergies through coming together. It increases the market coverage of a business; it can get a solid finance base making it attractive to lenders. There will be an increase in innovation and creativity because of different skills being brought together from diverse businesses (Boccia et al., 2020). Therefore, if enacted becomes law, the bill will speed up the growth of companies and their ability to expand both financially and geographically.
On the contrary, due to exemptions when registering brokers, fraud may increase, and cases of people defaulting from specific agreements. Without registration certifications, it is difficult to hold someone accountable for their work and single out fraudsters from genuine brokers. Simplifying the whole process of becoming a broker also opens up businesses to take over risks. People may take advantage of the loopholes that come with this freedom and acquire smaller firms that are vulnerable financially. This causes some businesses to fall out and cease to exist due to other companies taking over some of their business. This has adverse effects on an economy because it loses the value addition the extinct businesses had on it. Also, the overall commercial becomes unstable because there is insecurity in the continuity of doing business.
New Business Preservation Act
This bill aims to have innovative startups where the Department of Treasury, through its secretary, allocates finance to specific states to aid promising startups have access to capital. The capital helps them commercialize various innovative ideas, create employment, and to speed up economic growth in the respective states (Boccia et al., 2020). In cases where there are exits and money is returned, the state will reinvest the money in programs approved by the state. Some of the roles of the secretary as per the bill are, to come up with standards that qualify a state program, avail technical assistance that goes towards designing and implementation of programs, ensure that the program’s integrity is maintained, and review the compliance of the approved states.
Therefore, the Act will have so many new businesses started and running by providing the necessary capital. More new creativity and ideas will be commercialized, which will create a business technologically advanced business environment. Firms already in the market will embrace more contemporary techniques and change not to be competitively disadvantaged. The government is involved in business, and it is easier to have a stable economy because it intervenes when the need arises. It can also understand the economy’s needs and develop sustainable solutions and policies that boost those needs (Boccia et al., 2020). An entrepreneurship culture is created among the states’ citizens because their determination to do business is supported. This, in turn, increases the number of business owners, more people get training on how to be influential entrepreneurs, and investments grow because of the enabling environment. Foreign dominance is reduced because the funding serves the purpose of encouraging local involvement.
The bill, however, affects the business negatively through the disparity it will cause in the economy of states that will be involved and the ones left out. Whereas there will be growth and advancement in participating states, the others will still lag economically. People are likely to move out of the nonparticipating states and move to those financially productive. Potential investors may also be scared off because those sponsored by the state are at a higher advantage financially. Therefore because of the unleveled ground, it may portray, businesses that would have played an influential role in the economy shy away. And finally, because the money is from the state, people may not take full responsibility and accountability for its utilization. This may lead to the misuse of the resources reducing business productivity and ultimately its failure.
The above pending bills show that legislative officials in partnership with citizens can always amend specific laws to solve prevailing business problems in the country (Boccia et al., 2020). The provision is limited to work per the constitution’s requirements, giving powers to the legislative officials for amendment. Upon enactment, the commendation in the law, depending on a specific area of business they address, has the possibility of causing both positive and negative implications (Steele, 2020). Therefore, the legislative team should ensure that they critically consider and review the proposed bill before making amendments to avoid it causing adverse negative impacts. This is because, upon its approval, it becomes the law, and making changes to it again takes time and resources. Also, experts should always be consulted during bill reviews to ensure there is clarity in the understanding of the bill. The possibility of mistakes when experts are involved is minimized because they have a clear and informed view concerning the implications of a bill.
Conclusion
Legislation, therefore, is a tool that influences the way businesses to transact their activities. Predictable regulations make one understand how to deal with any given situation without being taken advantage of by the other party. Consistency in the economy is also assured because everyone does their transactions following specific laws in potentially unstable environments. Businesses are also put under watch and made accountable to the general public in their dealings and transactions. Legislative bodies and officials should aim to have laws for the general development of the economy and the people. All parties involved should be made aware of the implications of going against the law. It will help in achieving the goal of legislation regulating, guiding, and holding accountable.
References
Boccia, R., & Michel, A. (2020). How congress can enable the great American economic recovery. Heritage Foundation Backgrounder, 3491.
McLaughlin, V. L., West, J. E., & Anderson, J. A. (2016). Engaging effectively in the policy-making process. Teacher Education and Special Education, 39(2), 134-149. Web.
Steele, C. (2020). An analysis of US federal environmental legislation in the nineteenth, twentieth and beginning twenty-first centuries, with emphasis on presidential party and political majorities in congress. The Journal of Legislative Studies, 26(2), 295-313.