Legislation is a general term used to describe laws passed by Parliaments and other bodies granted law-making power, as well as the regulations and rules developed by government agencies under delegated legislative powers. Typically, laws cover broad areas such as civil rights, health care, food safety, environmental protection and securities trading.

Each piece of legislation begins as a draft conceived by a legislator, who is considered the chief author. In the House, a bill may have 34 coauthors; in the Senate, four. When a bill is introduced, it is assigned a House or Senate file number that helps identify the bill as it moves through the legislative process. Initially, bills are public, meaning they apply to the entire population or classes of citizens; later in the legislative process they can be made private.

After the chief authors introduce a bill, it is referred to one or more committees for discussion. The number of committees to which a measure is referred depends on the subject matter and a variety of other factors. When a bill is discussed in committee, it is often amended. The amendments are considered by the committee members who vote to recommend action–approval or disapproval–to the full House or Senate.

When a bill is recommended for approval by the committee, it is placed on an agenda called the General Register or General Orders in the House and the Consent Calendar in the Senate. The agendas differ slightly, as the committee can suggest that non-controversial bills bypass the General Register or the Senate’s Consent Calendar and move directly to consideration by the full House or Senate.