bill

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