3.The Passage of Bills

All Acts originate as bills，which undergo various stages of consideration by both Houses，and become Acts on receiving the royal assent.Generally speaking，most bills，and nearly all important bills，are introduced by the Government.Once the Government has decided to introduce a bill，one minister is put in charge of it.The preparation of the text may take many months，with long consultation involving civil servants in the minister’s department on the one hand and Parliamentary Counsel ⁶ on the other.At the same time，the civil servants will probably have conferences with officials from other departments，and also with representatives of groups of people who may be affected or interested in some way by the proposed new law.At last the bill is ready to be submitted to Parliament.It can begin its journey in either House，though all really important or controversial bills are in fact submitted to the House of Commons first.

Today the English tend to divide the bills into two kinds：public bills and private bills.A public bill relates to matters of general concern，and is normally introduced by agovernment minister.If its main purpose is not the expenditure of public money，however，it may be introduced by a back-bencher⁷.By contrast，aprivate bill relates to a particular local or individual interest and is promoted by the body or person concerned.

In both Houses，apublic bill is presented to the House by the member in charge of it.This introduction of a bill is usually called its first reading，which is a purely formal stage.At its second reading the bill is debated on its merits，normally by the whole House，but exceptionally in the commons by a specially appointed second reading committee.Then comes the committee stage，when a standing committee examines the bill in detail，and makes amendments.At a subsequent report stage before the whole House，further amendments are often made.The bill is then read a third time and passed.The third reading is normally formal but a debate can be demanded；the Speaker can also permit the making of minor verbal amendments.A bill passed by one House is then sent to the other House，to go through similar’stages there，and a bill passed by both Houses is submitted finally for the royal assent，and then it becomes law.

A private bill is introduced by apetition，which the promoters must lodge with parliament，together with a copy of the bill，after public advertisement and the giving of specific notice to anyone whose interests are directly affected.By contrast with public bills，the second reading debate is not concerned with bill’s desirability but with whether its proposals are contrary to national policy.The committee stage that follows is the vital stage.The bill begins with a preamble stating the facts that the promoters regard as justifying their proposals，and it is these facts that have to be proved in the committee stage.If the preamble is rejected in this stage，the bill fails.If it is accepted，the committee stage continues，and the report stage and third reading follow，in the same way as for a public bill.