ART. IV, SECTION 8. PASSAGE OF BILLS
April 16, 2008 – 5:58 am(a) The enacting clause of the laws of this State shall be: “Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly.”
(b) The General Assembly shall enact laws only by bill. Bills may originate in either house, but may be amended or rejected by the other. Bills may be amended but must be substantially similar to the bill as it was introduced. The practice of “shell bills” is banned. Amendments to bills introduced as technical changes to existing law are prohibited.
(c) No bill shall become a law without the concurrence of a majority of the members elected to each house. Final passage of a bill shall be by record vote. In the Senate at the request of two members, and in the House at the request of five members, a record vote may be taken on any other occasion. A record vote is a vote by yeas and nays entered on the journal. Upon motion of any legislator joined by one-fourth of a chamber, a bill shall be called to the floor for a vote independent of committee action or desires of the chamber leadership. Such a bill shall have its final vote within 7 calendar days and the vote shall be by record vote.
(d) No bill shall become law unless before the final vote it has been available to the public in full for at least 7 calendar days during which time no amendments are allowed.
(e) A bill shall be read by title on three different days in each house. A bill and each amendment thereto shall be reproduced and placed on the desk of each member before final passage no earlier than 72 hours before a final vote.
Bills, except bills for appropriations and for the codification, revision or rearrangement of laws, shall be confined to one subject. Appropriation bills shall be limited to the subject of appropriations.
A bill expressly amending a law shall set forth completely the sections amended.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate shall sign each bill that passes both houses to certify that the procedural requirements for passage have been met.
(f) Any bill passed by the General Assembly that does not adhere to the requirements of this session is null and void. Any citizen of the State of Illinois shall be entitled to file suit in any court of the state of Illinois under this clause as a cause of action. Any court of the state of Illinois shall nullify any law that is found to have been passed in a way that does not follow the requirements set forth in this section.
(g) Upon motion of 1/4th of the legislators in a chamber, any bill shall be discharged from committee, read on the floor of the chamber and be presented to the legislators for an up or down vote.
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