A bill is a proposal for a new law, or a proposal to significantly change an existing law. A bill does not become law until it is passed by the legislature and has been, in most cases, approved by the executive. Once a bill has been enacted into law by the legislature, it is called an act of the legislature, or a statute. Bills are introduced in the legislature and are discussed, debated and voted upon. Usage The word bill is mainly used in English-speaking nations formerly part of the British Empire whose legal systems originated in United Kingdom Common Law, including the United States. The parts of a bill are known as clauses, until it has become an act of parliament, from which time the parts of the law are known as sections. In nations with a Napoleonic law (including France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain and Portugal), a proposed law may be known as a "law project" (Fr. projet de loi), which is a government-introduced bill, or a "law proposition" (Fr. proposition de loi), a private member's bill. For example the Dutch parliamentary system does not make this terminological distinction (wetsontwerp and wetsvoorstel being used interchangeably). Preparation

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Notable quotes

“The more corrupt a society, the more numerous its laws.”
— Edward Abbey, A Voice Crying in the Wilderness (Vox Clamantis in Deserto) (1990).
“The law cannot save those who deny it but neither can the law serve any who do not use it. The history of injustice and inequality is a history of disuse of the law. Law has not failed--and is not failing. We as a nation have failed ourselves by not trusting the law and by not using the law to gain sooner the ends of justice which law alone serves.”
— Lyndon B. Johnson, speaking at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on the occasional of Memorial Day (May 30, 1963). Source: Press Release, "5/30/63, Remarks by Vice President, Memorial Day, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania," Statements File, Box 80, LBJ Library.
“That which is not just, is not Law; and that which is not Law, ought not to be obeyed.”
— Algernon Sydney, in Discourses Concerning Government (1698) Ch. 3, Sect. 11.
“Laws are generally found to be nets of such a texture, as the little creep through, the great break through, and the middle-sized alone are entangled in.”
— William Shenstone, On Politics.
“I would wish to do as much as possible for you; but I cannot strain the law.”
— Earl of Clonwell, L.C.J., Jackson's Case (1795), 25 How. St. Tr. 879.
“It will be of little avail to the people, that the laws are made by men of their own choice, if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood; if they be repealed or revised before they are promulgated, or undergo such incessant changes that no man, who knows what the law is to-day, can guess what it will be to-morrow.”
— James Madison (?), The Federalist, ed. Benjamin F. Wright (1961), no. 62, p. 411–12.

Quotes via Wikiquote (CC BY-SA), each with its original source.

Overview

A bill is a proposal for a new law, or a proposal to significantly change an existing law. A bill does not become law until it is passed by the legislature and has been, in most cases, approved by the executive. Once a bill has been enacted into law by the legislature, it is called an act of the legislature, or a statute. Bills are introduced in the legislature and are discussed, debated and voted upon. Usage The word bill is mainly used in English-speaking nations formerly part of the British Empire whose legal systems originated in United Kingdom Common Law, including the United States. The parts of a bill are known as clauses, until it has become an act of parliament, from which time the parts of the law are known as sections. In nations with a Napoleonic law (including France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain and Portugal), a proposed law may be known as a "law project" (Fr. projet de loi), which is a government-introduced bill, or a "law proposition" (Fr. proposition de loi), a private member's bill. For example the Dutch parliamentary system does not make this terminological distinction (wetsontwerp and wetsvoorstel being used interchangeably). Preparation

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

A bill is a proposal for a new law, or a proposal to significantly change an existing law. A bill does not become law until it is passed by the legislature and has been, in most cases, approved by the executive. Once a bill has been enacted into law by the legislature, it is called an act of the legislature, or a statute. Bills are introduced in the legislature and are discussed, debated and voted upon.

Not who you're looking for? Others named bill: polearm weapon used by infantry in medieval Europe · 1973 studio album by Bill Anderson · character from Kill Bill · 1981 television film directed by Anthony Page

Notable quotes

“The more corrupt a society, the more numerous its laws.”
— Edward Abbey, A Voice Crying in the Wilderness (Vox Clamantis in Deserto) (1990).
“The law cannot save those who deny it but neither can the law serve any who do not use it. The history of injustice and inequality is a history of disuse of the law. Law has not failed--and is not failing. We as a nation have failed ourselves by not trusting the law and by not using the law to gain sooner the ends of justice which law alone serves.”
— Lyndon B. Johnson, speaking at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on the occasional of Memorial Day (May 30, 1963). Source: Press Release, "5/30/63, Remarks by Vice President, Memorial Day, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania," Statements File, Box 80, LBJ Library.
“That which is not just, is not Law; and that which is not Law, ought not to be obeyed.”
— Algernon Sydney, in Discourses Concerning Government (1698) Ch. 3, Sect. 11.
“Laws are generally found to be nets of such a texture, as the little creep through, the great break through, and the middle-sized alone are entangled in.”
— William Shenstone, On Politics.
“I would wish to do as much as possible for you; but I cannot strain the law.”
— Earl of Clonwell, L.C.J., Jackson's Case (1795), 25 How. St. Tr. 879.
“It will be of little avail to the people, that the laws are made by men of their own choice, if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood; if they be repealed or revised before they are promulgated, or undergo such incessant changes that no man, who knows what the law is to-day, can guess what it will be to-morrow.”
— James Madison (?), The Federalist, ed. Benjamin F. Wright (1961), no. 62, p. 411–12.