The Petalumahomes.com Realty WebLog

The campaign trail isn’t the only place you’ll find politicians posing for the media and shaking hands. This week, members of the Senate reached across the aisle to pass an amended version of the $168 Billion Economic Stimulus Plan, including rebates for taxpayers, tax breaks for businesses, and new conforming limits for home loans. The bill now heads back to the floor of the House for approval of their amendments and then onto the President.

All this back and forth prompts the question… how does a bill actually become a law? The answer is… well… it’s a long process. But, we can sum it up in a handful of major steps.

First, a bill is proposed in the House of Representatives and is sent to the appropriate committee for discussion. Next, the committee discusses and amends the bill, and then approves the bill for full House consideration. From there, the bill moves to the full House of Representatives for additional discussion and amendment before a vote is taken. If the House vote passes, the bill is sent to the Senate–where it is discussed, amended, and voted on again.

Of course, it’s not over yet. Once the bill passes the full Senate vote, it moves to a conference committee to iron out any differences between the Senate and House versions of the bill. After the conference committee, the bill finally lands on the President’s desk, where he (or who are we kidding, maybe she) can sign it into law or veto it.

The bottom line is, it typically takes a long time for a bill to become a law, and there are lots of discussions and amendments along the way. For a more humorous overview of the process that may bring back some memories, check out the old School House Rock - How a bill Becomes Law.

And, remember, the new Economic Stimulus Plan–with its new conforming loan limits–will go into law soon. If you’ve been thinking about refinancing or purchasing a new home, now is an excellent time and you could save big with the limits. Contact me to discuss how these new limits may help you!