How a bill becomes a bill

HOW a Bill becomes Law in US? Congress: House vs Senate?

This article covers all the topics like who can introduce bill, how does it travel through both House, Senate, and reach President, including a simple flow chart.

How do Bill ideas come in? Who can Introduce Bill?

Usually ideas for a Bill come from citizens, interest groups, election campaigns. where the members promised something, etc. Anyone can contribute to the text of the bill, but Bills can only be formally introduced by members of Congress, such as a Representative in House or Senator in Senate. Bills can originate in either House or Senate, but needs to be passed with majority in both of them in same form to become law.

Parties involved in passing a Bill – Committees, Subcommittees

To pass a bill to law, it has to go through both House & Senate and then need to be signed by President to become law. Senate has 100 members – 2 per state and House has 435 members – based on population. Both House and Senate has a number of committees and subcommittees. House has 20 standing committees like Budget Committee, Rules Committee, Appropriations Committee. Senate has 16 standing committees like Foreign relations Committee, Armed Services Committees. There can be additional committees in both of them for various other needs.

Bills can originate in either House or Senate. They have similar structure. House originated Bills Start with H. R. that means House of Representatives, it is followed by a number that is a serial number. It has basic information on the top on what is the high-level purpose on the top, followed by who is the main person introducing the same with other people supporting the same (called as co-sponsors). After that you see the text of the Bill. Senate originated Bills Start with S. that means Senate and followed by a number and it also has similar structure as House Bill. See below for samples of House Bill and Senate Bill.

Bill Proposal – Gathering Support, Sponsors

Usually during the process of writing a bill or after completion of draft of the bill, the House Representative or Senator, who plans to introduce the bill discusses with other Reps or Senators to get their support and make them as co-sponsors. The more co-sponsors for the bill, the better its chances to go forward in the process to become law.

Now let’s look at the step by step high level process of the Bill that is introduced in House and navigates through the Senate reaches President.

Process of a Bill to Become Law in US Congress – Originating in House

Below are the various steps involved during the process of a Bill that originates in House and goes all the way to get singed by President. For example, this is the case of Bill HR 1044, it was introduced in House first.

Bill can be introduced in the house by putting it into something called Hopper, which is a special wooden box on the side of clerk’s desk.

You need be a representative in the House to introduce the bill in House. The Bill clerk would assign a number to that bill that starts with H.R.. In the past, a reading clerk used to read the bill to all the Reps in the House, but, the reading of bill custom is not there anymore and the bill is sent to respective channels for printing and electronic forms for everyone to review.

The Speaker of the House would refer the bill to one of the House Committees. In the case of HR 1044, it was given to Committee on Judiciary. Once the bill is introduced in House, you can check the bill details on Congress.gov and track its status on that website.

Committees actions define the fate of a bill. Committees also give an option for public to express their opinion, experts opinions, etc. Once a Bill is assigned to a committee, the bill clerk assigns it to committees’ legislative calendar. Depending on the topic of Bill and details required, it will be assigned to subcommittee. In HR 1044 bill case, it was assigned to subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship.

The subcommittee looks at the bill, gets expert opinion as needed, holds hearings and debates the topics in the same. If the subcommittee is not interested or there is not enough support for the bill, they can table the bill (meaning the bill is put aside and technically dead at that time). If the subcommittee is convinced, they come up with recommendations to the main committee that assigned them the Bill.

After the recommendations, the Bill is heard, debated as needed and then voted on the same. It can be tabled in Committee level ( put aside, and bill is dead ) as well. To come out of that tabled situation at committee level, it needs a ‘discharge petition’ that needs majority vote of 51% of 435 reps to sign for it to come out of committee and debated on House floor.

If approved in main committee, it goes to Rules Committee to decide that decides the rules of debate and how it should be handled in full House.

Once a Bill approved in committee, it goes on to one of the calendars in the house. Being part of calendar does not mean it gets option to debate. You can think of calendar as a menu, where the majority party gets to choose the order, unless it falls under something called Consensus Calendar, where bill that have at least 290 cosponsors for 25 days, like HR 1044 Bill. If it is part of Consensus calendar, then at least one of the items in that should be picked per week.

Once the Bill comes on the floor, the bill is read, debated and amendments are made, if any. The requested amendments should be related to the Bill ( also called as germane amendments ). The debate duration for the Bill is usually set ahead of time and usually passed as a simple resolution.

After closing the debate, and all the changes are done, it is ready to be voted on by the entire House. It can be done either voice vote or by electronic voting. If voice vote, the Reps say Aye ( Yes), No or Present( meaning, choosing not to vote). If the reps request electronic recording of the vote, then they can vote using electronic voting machine. To vote, the reps insert their encrypted electronic voting card and then pressing buttons YEA, NAY or PRE like in below image to record their vote.

If the Bill gets simple majority vote ( 215 out of 435), it will be considered passed in the House. For certain Bills like Federal income tax rate increase, they require 3/5th of majority in the house (261 out of 435 ) and some require 2/3rd Majority ( 290 out of 435). Once the bill is passed in House, the Enrolling Clerk prepares the Engrossed Bill (basically the final certified copy with all the changes that were agreed by House members and certified by the House clerk for accuracy). The engrossed bill is printed on blue paper and signed by the clerk of the House and delivered to the Senate for next steps.

The engrossed Bill arrives in Senate and similar to House, when a Bill arrives in US Senate, it is read by the Clerk in the Senate and then the President of the Senate ( Vice President of US ) or acting person on behalf refers the engrossed bill from House to the appropriate committee in the Senate. For instance, in case of HR 1044 it was assigned to Judiciary Committee in Senate.

The process in Senate Committees is similar to that of House. The bill clerk would assign the Bill to the committee’s legislative calendar. Also, similar to House, depending on the type of Bill, the main committee would either take it up or assign to a subcommittee.

The Bill goes through more or less same process in subcommittee like getting expert opinion, holding hearings, debates on the same. Same as in House, if the committee or subcommittee is not interested or there is not enough support at any point, the bill can be tabled as well (meaning the bill is put aside and technically dead at that time). Once the assigned committee agrees on the bill, they vote on the same and if it passes, then it goes to the Senate Floor. The process of going through the bill, debating it, modifying it and then ultimately voting it is termed as ‘markup’.

Once the Bill arrives in the Senate floor, it goes through debate. Senate is very famous for its debates. It is important to end a debate in Senate to go for voting. The key point to end a debate is, you need an Unanimous Consent(UC) to end the debate (meaning everyone in the Senate floor should agree to end the debate and let the bill go for voting).

Now, the trick is, if a senator or group of senators do not like the bill or they do not want to vote for it, they will not give their consent and will not let the bill go for voting. This point of not giving consent is called “a hold”. Basically, what they are saying by not giving consent is that they want to continue debating on the same Bill. This situation for endless debate is called Filibuster.

To get out of this hold situation or Filibuster, you will need about 60 votes majority to use a process called Cloture (closure of the debate). So, technically, anyone who wants to block the Bill from passing can put brakes on the Bill, if there is not enough support in the Senate, which is 60 votes. Even though, you need a simple majority of 51 to pass a Bill, because of the concept of Filibuster, the bill can be killed by anyone, if there are less than 60 senators supporting the Bill.

Also, unlike in House, for amendments in the bill, they need not be related to the Bill ( need not be Germane). The Senators can add changes that may not be directly related to the Bill, such changes are called riders. This is also another tactic to kill the Bill or compromise and get their areas of interest to be included in the Bill. Let’s say the debate ends and the bill is voted and gets passed by majority vote, then the Bill is engrossed by Senate and sent back to the House. Senators vote by voice by saying ‘Yea’ or ‘Nay’.

The key requirement for a Bill to go to President for signature is that the Bill should be voted and passed in the same exact form and text. During the above process of Bill moving from House to Senate, if there are any new changes/amendments done to the Bill in Senate, then it again needs to go to House for voting.

To reconcile the differences in the Bills that were passed in Senate and House, often a Conference Committee is appointed that has members from both Senate and House. Senators and House of Representatives related to the Bill discuss and try to resolve their differences and need to come to an agreement, so that the modified one Bill can be accepted by both Senate and House.

The final agreed bill by Conference committee is again sent to House and Senate for voting. If it passes the vote in both Senate and House, then it goes to President. The final copy of the bill that is passed in both chambers is called “Enrolled Bill”

After the final version of Bill is passed in both House and Senate, the ‘enrolled bill’ ( final copy of Bill passed in House and Senate) arrives to President of United States desk for signature. The President can choose to sign the bill or veto the bill. If the bill is signed by president, the bill become law. But, if the president does not agree or like the bill in its form, he or she can refuse to sign or Veto the Bill.

If the president vetoes the Bill, it is sent back to the House with reason for veto. If the Senate and House believes that they do not want to change anything in Bill, they can override the veto of President by 2/3rds of majority vote in House and Senate, then the same bill automatically becomes law.

Also, another option for president is to do nothing. Also, there is something called pocket veto concept, where president does not do anything. If the president does not sign for 10 days, and the Congress is in session, then it automatically becomes law. But, the tricky part is, if the Congress is not in session for all 10 days, then the bill will die.

If in the bill becomes law in any of the above ways, like either signed by President, or vetoed and overridden, or exhaust 10 days and becomes law automatically, it will get a public law number. For instance, for 113th congress, it would be Public Law 113-1. The official publication of the Bill that became law is published by the office of the Federal Register. Once the bill becomes law, it is enforced by the respective Government agency that handles the same.

How Bill Becomes Law – Step by Step Flow Chart

Steps for a Bill to become Law in US Congress – Introduction to Sign by President

The process of the Bill originating or starting in Senate goes to pretty much the same process as described above. Just the order changes. Below is a high-level summary of the same steps.

Process of a Bill to Become Law – Originating in Senate

Step 1 : Bill is Introduced in Senate – Assigned to Committee

Bill is prepared similar to the same way in Senate and it will have a sponsor. The Senate Parliamentarian (Vice President or person in charge) will assign it to the committee that is relevant to the Bill. In the case of S 386, it was given to Committee on Judiciary.

Step 2 : Process in Senate Committees, Sub Committees

Similar to the process in House, Committees actions define the fate of a bill. The Senate bill is put on calendar, assigned to subcommittee as needed. It goes through expert opinions, etc. and the overall process of ‘markup’, where the bill is debated, modified and then ultimately voted. If the committee members vote favorably, then it goes to Senate floor.

Once a Bill approved in committee, it goes on to Senate floor for voting. The Majority leader of the Senate decides when to bring up the Bill for vote. It goes to debate and needs Unanimous consent to go for voting. If someone tries to hold the bill and not give consent ( filibuster), then it needs 60 votes to come out of hold called as Cloture vote. Finally, once voting happens and if Bill passes it goes to the House after the bill is Engrossed by the clerk.

Step 4 : Bill Introduced in House – Assigned to Committee

The engrossed Bill arrives in House and goes through similar process as listed above and a committee is assigned by Speaker.

Step 5: Process in House Committees, Sub Committees

As described above, the bill goes through the committees & subcommittees for opinion, debates, voting and ultimately goes to the House Floor, if everyone agrees. It goes through rules committee for how it should be handled on floor

Step 6 : Introduction to House Floor – Debate, Vote

The Bill in introduced in House, goes through debate and then voting. The same process described above in House apply here.

Step 7 : If Same Bill Text is NOT passed – Conference Committee

Similar to above, same bill has to be passed in both House and Senate. If different, it needs to be resolved in the Conference Committee and then it goes for final voting. The final agreed bill by Conference committee is again sent to House and Senate for voting. If it passes the vote in both Senate and House, then it goes to President.

Step 8 : President – Can Sign the Bill or Veto the Bill

After the final version of Bill is passed in both House and Senate, it arrives to President of United States desk for signature. The same process of president signature and Veto apply here as well. If signed or fits other requirements, it becomes Law.

Step 9 : Bill becomes Law – Gets a Number, Implementation.

Same as above, the bill gets a number and published in respective places. Once the bill becomes law, it is enforced by the respective Government agency that handles the same.

How a Bill Becomes a Law

1. A member of Congress introduces a bill.
When a senator or representative introduces a bill, it is sent to the clerk of the Senate or House, who gives it a number and title. Next, the bill goes to the appropriate committee.

2. Committees review and vote on the bill.
Committees specialize in different areas, such as foreign relations or agriculture, and are made up of small groups of senators or representatives.

The committee may reject the bill and “table” it, meaning it is never discussed again. Or it may hold hearings to listen to facts and opinions, make changes in the bill and cast votes. If most committee members vote in favor of the bill, it is sent back to the Senate and the House for debate.

3. The Senate and the House debate and vote on the bill.
Separately, the Senate and the House debate the bill, offer amendments and cast votes. If the bill is defeated in either the Senate or the House, the bill dies.

Sometimes, the House and the Senate pass the same bill, but with different amendments. In these cases, the bill goes to a conference committee made up of members of Congress. The conference committee works out differences between the two versions of the bill.

Then the bill goes before all of Congress for a vote. If a majority of both the Senate and the House votes for the bill, it goes to the President for approval.

4. The President signs the bill—or not.
If the President approves the bill and signs it, the bill becomes a law. However, if the President disapproves, he can veto the bill by refusing to sign it.

Congress can try to overrule a veto. If both the Senate and the House pass the bill by a two-thirds majority, the President’s veto is overruled and the bill becomes a law.

How a Bill Becomes a Law

This advocacy tool describes the process of how a bill becomes a law at the federal level (much like the School House Rocks song, “I am a Bill»).

You can be an effective advocate for young children and families when you familiarize yourself with how the public policy process works and the times in which your advocacy can have the greatest impact.

STEP 1: The Creation of a Bill

Members of the House or Senate draft, sponsor and introduce bills for consideration by Congress. The House clerk assigns a legislative number for bills introduced in the House of Representatives (e.g., H.R. 1001) and the Senate clerk assigns a legislative number for bills introduced in the Senate (e.g., S. 1002).

STEP 2: Committee Action

Usually, a committee is assigned to study the bill according to its subject matter. Often a committee will refer the bill to one of its subcommittees. The subcommittee may request reports from government agencies, hold hearings so experts and interested parties have an opportunity to offer testimony regarding the issue, “mark up” or revise the bill, or report the legislation to the full committee for its consideration. The full committee may make a recommendation to pass the bill, to revise (i.e., mark up) and release the bill (also known as reporting the bill out of committee), or to lay the bill aside (also known as tabling the bill).

STEP 3: Floor Action

The bill is returned to the full House or Senate for further debate and approval. At this point members may propose amendments to the bill, add additional text, or otherwise alter the bill.

STEP 4: Vote

House and Senate members vote on their respective versions of the proposed bill.

STEP 5: Conference Committees

A bill must be approved by both Chambers of Congress. When the Senate amends and agrees to a bill or a version of a bill that the House has already passed or when the House amends and passes a Senate bill or a version of a Senate bill, the two Chambers may begin to resolve any legislative differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill by way of a conference committee. When the chambers go to conference, the House and Senate send conferees or representatives to bargain and negotiate. The final compromise is embodied in a Conference Report that must be agreed to by both chambers before it is cleared for presidential consideration. The Conference Report will recommend a common version of the measure for approval and will also include statements of legislative intent regarding provisions of the legislation in a Joint Statement of Managers of the Conference.

STEP 6: Presidential Action

After the bill is passed by both Chambers it is sent to the President for his approval or his signature, which if granted creates a Public Law. When a President comments on and refuses to sign a bill it is known as a veto. A vetoed bill may return to Congress for reconsideration. If the President does not act within 10 days the bill automatically becomes law. If Congress adjourns during the 10 days after the bill is sent to the President and he does not sign it, the bill is automatically vetoed. This process is also known as a pocket veto.

STEP 7: The Creation of a Law

The Office of Federal Register assigns the Public Law a number (i.e. P.L. 109-1) and the Government Printing Office prints a copy of it. Laws are issued first in slip form or a single publication containing one law. Later it is organized in the order in which it was passed. Finally, it is codified into subject order so that all laws on the same topic fall together.

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The New York State Senate

Find your Senator and share your views on important issues.

How a Bill Becomes a Law

And How You Can Help

The job of the Senate is to work with the Assembly and the Governor to enact, amend or repeal statutes which make up the body of laws within which we live. This involves drafting, discussing and approving bills and resolutions.

The text shows the process in a simplified progression from «Idea» to «Law.» At any step in the process, participation by a citizen or group of citizens is as easy as making a call, writing a letter, or signing a petition being sent to your Senator, any other legislator or the Governor.

The Idea

This is the starting point in the process, and the first point at which the citizen has a chance to have a say in the writing or rewriting of law.

Subjects of legislation are as varied as the range of human activities. Someone once said that legislation deals with birth and death, and everything in between.

Ideas for legislation come from many sources. A Senator may have an idea. One of his or her constituents may point out a need. A State official may propose a change. An organization may espouse a cause that requires a change in the law. There is no monopoly on ideas for legislation.

Often, one person’s idea on how to solve a problem has resulted in good legislation to help solve the problems of many people.

Bill Drafting

Once an idea for a new law has been settled on, it must be put into bill form before it can be considered by the Senate. The actual drafting of legislation requires a specialized type of legal training and is usually done by the staff of the Legislative Bill Drafting Commission.

Sometimes, however, an interest group may have its own attorneys draft a bill, and lawyers working in various state agencies and the executive branch often submit their ideas for legislation in bill form.

Introduction

No law may be enacted in New York State unless it has been adopted by the Legislature in bill form. And to be adopted, it must first be introduced. With a single exception, bills can be introduced only by legislators or by standing committees of the Senate and Assembly. That exception is the Executive Budget, which is submitted directly by the Governor.

On introduction in the Senate, a bill goes to the Introduction and Revision Office, where it is examined and corrected, given a number, sent to the appropriate standing committee, entered into the Senate computer, deemed to have had its first and second readings and printed.

(Incidentally, «first reading», «second reading» and «third reading» are terms which linger in the legislative vocabulary from the days when each bill was read aloud in full in public session three times before final action could be taken.)

Committee Action

Just as we engage specialists for specialized problems such as legal or medical advice, so does the Senate engage specialists to study legislation. These specialists are members of Standing Committees who evaluate bills and decide whether to «report» them (send them) to the Senate floor for a final decision by the full membership. A committee agenda is issued each week listing the bills and issues each Senate committee will handle the following week. Committees often hold public hearings on bills to gather the widest possible range of opinion.

The committee stage is the second point at which the citizen’s contribution is important. An expression of opinion on a proposed bill can be sent directly to the committee chairman, or it can be sent to your local Senator for relay to the committee members.

The committee system acts as a funnel through which the large number of bills introduced each session must pass before they can be considered. The system also acts as a sieve to sift out undesirable or unworkable ideas.

After consideration, the committee may report the bill to the full Senate for consideration, it may amend the bill, or it may reject it.

The Calendar

The Daily Calendar is the agenda for Senate sessions and contains those measures which have come through the committee process. Bills take their place in order as they are reported from committee, and at this point are referred by their Calendar Number. This process allows additional time for your reaction against or for a bill.

Each bill has to be on the Senators’ desks for three days before it can be voted on, unless the Governor authorizes and the Senate accepts a Message of Necessity for a certain bill. When bills reach the Order of Third Reading, they become ready for a final vote. If the sponsor of a bill realizes at this point that his bill may not have enough support for passage, or has a defect which may require an amendment, he may ask that it be laid aside, returned to committee for further study, or «starred» (placed in an inactive file). The Majority Leader also may ask that a bill be starred. Once starred, it cannot be acted on until one day after removal of the star. When the bill comes up for consideration on the Order of Third Reading, it is subject to debate, discussion or explanation.

By communicating your views on a particular issue to your Senator, you have another opportunity at this point to participate in the lawmaking process.

Floor Amendments

Once a bill has been introduced, reported out by a committee and is on the calendar for consideration by the full Senate, it can still be amended. The sponsor of the bill, for example, can submit the changes to the Bill Drafting Commission; the bill, now in its amended form, retains its original number, but amended versions are denoted by a letter suffix A, B, C, D and so on for each time the bill is altered.

However, beyond this, any Senator may amend a given bill by offering amendments to it on the Senate floor, even if he or she is not one of the bill’s sponsors.

This method allows all members access to a bill’s language, opening it to the suggestions and opinions of members who may like the essential ideas of the bill, but disagree with the sponsor on one or more of the legislation’s details. Moreover, since the amendments are offered in open session, all members can ask questions and discuss the merits of the proposed amendments.

Passing a Bill

After explanation, discussion or debate, a vote is taken. If a majority of the Senators approves, the bill is sent to the Assembly.

In the Assembly, you again have a chance to influence the bill as it moves through a process basically the same as that in the Senate. It is referred to a committee for discussion, and if approved there, it goes to the full membership for a vote.

If the bill is approved in the Assembly without amendment, it goes on to the Governor. However, if it is changed, it is returned to the Senate for concurrence in the amendments.

(The reverse procedure is followed if the Assembly first passes a bill identical to a Senate measure or if the Senate amends an Assembly bill.)

Conference Committees

Sometimes the Senate and Assembly pass similar bills, but cannot easily reconcile the differences between them in a reasonable time frame. In such cases, a procedural device called a conference committee can be used to iron out the differences.

The Senate Majority Leader and Assembly Speaker each appoint five members from their respective houses to serve on this committee. After agreement is reached, a bill is printed and processed like any other bill.

The Governor

While the Legislature is in session, the Governor has 10 days (not counting Sundays) to sign or veto bills passed by both houses. Signed bills become law; vetoed bills do not. However, the Governor’s failure to sign or veto a bill within the 10-day period means that it becomes law automatically. Vetoed bills are returned to the house that first passed them, together with a statement of the reason for their disapproval. A vetoed bill can become law if two-thirds of the members of each house vote to override the Governor’s veto.

If a bill is sent to the Governor when the Legislature is out of session, the rules are a bit different. At such times, the Governor has 30 days in which to make a decision, and failure to act («pocket veto») has the same effect as a veto.

Citizen comment is an important part of the legislative process. Public opinion often affects the shape of a bill as well as its eventual success or failure. Remember, your input can play a crucial role in determining how a bill becomes a law.

This document is your manual to the legislative process as it functions in the New York State Senate. It is intended to help you understand how an idea is transformed into a law and the part that you as a citizen can play in this process.

How a bill becomes law

There are several stages that a bill passes before becoming an Act of Parliament. These stages ensure that a bill is subject to public debate and scrutiny. Some of these stages also provide an opportunity for a bill to be changed.

New Zealand Sign Language explanation of how a bill becomes law [Video duration: 10 min 47 secs]

Source: Office of the Clerk

The term ‘reading’ dates from the time when bills were read aloud in the House of Commons in Great Britain. Only the title is read aloud in the New Zealand House of Representatives.

Introduction

A bill is publicly available after its introduction. Introduction is an administrative process that is later announced in the House. A bill has no formal existence until it is introduced.

First reading

A first reading debate provides the first chance to debate a bill in the House. It can occur no sooner than the third sitting day after a bill’s introduction. This delay allows members time to look at a bill and decide if they agree with it.

At the end of the debate the House decides if a bill should progress and votes on whether it should be ‘read a first time’. If a bill is defeated in the vote, that is the end of the bill. If the ‘first reading’ is agreed, the bill is usually referred to a select committee to be considered in more detail.

Select committee

Once a bill is referred to a select committee, the committee usually has 6 months to examine the bill and prepare a report for the House.

Select committees normally invite public submissions on a bill. Then they hold public hearings to listen to some of those who made submissions. After hearing submissions they work through the issues raised, and decide what changes, if any, should be made to the bill.

The select committee’s report contains:

Second reading

A bill can be read a second time no sooner than the third sitting day after the select committee reports to the House. Members can then debate the main principles of a bill, and any changes recommended by the select committee in its report.

Changes not supported by every committee member are subject to a single vote at the end of the second reading debate.

Changes that are supported by every committee member are automatically included in the bill if the second reading is agreed.

If the vote is lost, that is the end of the bill. If the second reading is agreed, the bill is ready for debate by a committee of the whole House.

Committee of the whole House

Any member of the House can participate when a committee of the whole House debates a bill. The members sit in the Chamber but the Speaker does not take the chair. The debate is less formal than other debates, but is no less important.

Members have many chances to make short speeches and debate the provisions of a bill. These debates are a chance to examine the bill in detail. Ministers and members can propose changes. These changes may be published before the debate in a supplementary order paper (SOP).

There is no time limit on these debates. Large or controversial bills may be before a committee of the whole House for several days.

Once the final form of a bill is agreed, it is reprinted to show any changes that have been made. The bill is then ready for third reading.

Third reading

This is usually a summing-up debate on a bill in its final form.

The vote at the end of the debate is the final vote in the House to either pass the bill or reject it. Bills are rarely rejected at this stage. If the bill is passed there is one final step before it becomes law — Royal assent.

Royal assent

A bill is not a law until it is signed by the Sovereign or the Sovereign’s representative in New Zealand, the Governor-General. This is called the Royal assent.

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