A bill of attainder (also known as an act of attainder or writ of attainder or bill of penalties) is an act of a legislature declaring a person, or a group of persons, guilty of some crime, and punishing them, often without a trial.

Every law that makes criminal an act that was innocent when done, or that inflicts a greater punishment than the law annexed to the crime when committed, is an ex post facto law within the prohibition of the Constitution.

A bill of attainder is a legislative act that declares someone guilty of a crime and assesses a punishment without providing a trial to prove the crime. Bills of attainder are banned because they violate the Constitution’s separation of powers.

“Bills of attainder . . . are such special acts of the legislature, as inflict capital punishments upon persons supposed to be guilty of high offences, such as treason and felony, without any conviction in the ordinary course of judicial proceedings.

How would a bill of attainder threaten a person’s freedom? A bill of attainder would acuse a person of a crime that was no a law when that person committed the crime, so that person could put you in jail and take away you freedom for a crime that, at the time it was committed, was not against the law.

A bill can be introduced in either chamber of Congress by a senator or representative who sponsors it. The president can approve the bill and sign it into law or not approve (veto) a bill. If the president chooses to veto a bill, in most cases Congress can vote to override that veto and the bill becomes a law.

Steps

• Step 1: The bill is drafted.
• Step 2: The bill is introduced.
• Step 3: The bill goes to committee.
• Step 4: Subcommittee review of the bill.
• Step 5: Committee mark up of the bill.
• Step 6: Voting by the full chamber on the bill.
• Step 7: Referral of the bill to the other chamber.
• Step 8: The bill goes to the president.

How a Bill Becomes a Law

• STEP 1: The Creation of a Bill. Members of the House or Senate draft, sponsor and introduce bills for consideration by Congress.
• STEP 2: Committee Action.
• STEP 3: Floor Action.
• STEP 4: Vote.
• STEP 5: Conference Committees.
• STEP 6: Presidential Action.
• STEP 7: The Creation of a Law.

Bills “die” in committee for various reasons. Some bills are duplicative; some bills are written to bring attention to issues without expectation of becoming law; some are not practical ideas.

That year, the Senate adopted a rule to allow a two-thirds majority to end a filibuster, a procedure known as “cloture.” In 1975 the Senate reduced the number of votes required for cloture from two-thirds of senators voting to three-fifths of all senators duly chosen and sworn, or 60 of the 100-member Senate.

If he vetoes the bill, and the Senate and House of Representatives do nothing, the bill “dies. If less than 26 Senators and less than 51 House members do not vote to over-ride the veto, the bill “dies. “ If a simple majority of both chambers vote to over-ride the veto, the bill becomes law. The bill becomes law.

The power of the President to refuse to approve a bill or joint resolution and thus prevent its enactment into law is the veto. The president cannot return the bill to Congress. The president’s decision not to sign the legislation is a pocket veto and Congress does not have the opportunity to override.

The President can reject a bill, and this is known as an absolute veto. That is, when the President withholds his assent to any bill, and the bill is dropped. He does not have this power in the case of money bills. In the case of constitutional amendment bills, the President has to give his assent.

A PRESIDENT CANNOT . . . declare war. decide how federal money will be spent. interpret laws. choose Cabinet members or Supreme Court Justices without Senate approval.

A bill becomes law if signed by the President or if not signed within 10 days and Congress is in session. If Congress adjourns before the 10 days and the President has not signed the bill then it does not become law (“Pocket Veto.”) If the veto of the bill is overridden in both chambers then it becomes law.

presidential signature – A proposed law passed by Congress must be presented to the president, who then has 10 days to approve or disapprove it. Normally, bills he neither signs nor vetoes within 10 days become law without his signature. …

If both houses approve a bill, it then goes to the Governor. The Governor has three choices. The Governor can sign the bill into law, allow it to become law without his or her signature, or veto it.

Ultimately, a law can only be passed if both the Senate and the House of Representatives introduce, debate, and vote on similar pieces of legislation. After the conference committee resolves any differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill, each chamber must vote again to approve the final bill text.

If the bill passes by simple majority (218 of 435), the bill moves to the Senate. Finally, a conference committee made of House and Senate members works out any differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill. The resulting bill returns to the House and Senate for final approval.

The House has several powers assigned exclusively to it, including the power to initiate revenue bills, impeach federal officials, and elect the President in the case of an electoral college tie. The Senate has the sole power to confirm those of the President’s appointments that require consent, and to ratify treaties.