Also known as: bills · billed · legislative bill · bill of exchange · bill of particulars
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
3 senses
A proposed statute introduced in a legislative body for consideration and enactment. It must originate in the House for revenue measures and requires passage by both houses followed by presentment to the President for approval or veto.
A proposed statute introduced in a legislative body for consideration and enactment. It must originate in the House for revenue measures and requires passage by both houses followed by presentment to the President for approval or veto.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A formal legislative declaration that enumerates fundamental individual rights and liberties protected against government infringement. Provisions within it create zones of privacy and are incorporated against the states through the Fourteenth Amendment.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A written itemization of amounts owed for goods, services, or repairs. It supports claims for payment or offsets against rent when a landlord defaults on maintenance obligations.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A formal legislative declaration that enumerates fundamental individual rights and liberties protected against government infringement. Provisions within it create zones of privacy and are incorporated against the states through the Fourteenth Amendment.
A written itemization of amounts owed for goods, services, or repairs. It supports claims for payment or offsets against rent when a landlord defaults on maintenance obligations.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
Congress considers a tax increase measure first drafted in the Senate. House leaders object and insist the bill return for origination there before any Senate amendments. The measure stalls until the House introduces its own version.
After signing a spending statute, the President cancels several specific appropriations within it. Challengers argue the action exceeds executive authority because the President may approve or reject an entire bill only.
A state legislature authorizes notes payable in silver to fund public works. Creditors challenge the notes as prohibited state bills of credit that impair contract obligations without congressional consent.
Congress enacts a statute barring members of a named political organization from federal employment. Affected individuals sue, claiming the law functions as a legislative punishment without trial and therefore constitutes a prohibited bill of attainder.
Yes. Article I Section 7 requires all bills for raising revenue to originate in the House of Representatives, although the Senate may propose amendments.
Supporting sources
No. The Line Item Veto Act was struck down because the President may approve or reject a bill only in its entirety and cannot unilaterally amend or repeal portions of statutes.
Supporting sources
No. Article I Section 10 forbids states from emitting bills of credit or making anything but gold and silver coin legal tender without congressional consent.
Supporting sources
State police arrest a married couple for using contraceptives in violation of a criminal statute. The couple defends on the ground that the Bill of Rights creates an unenumerated zone of marital privacy immune from state intrusion.
A city ordinance bans possession of handguns in private homes. Residents sue, arguing the Second Amendment right recognized in the Bill of Rights applies to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause.
Yes. Various guarantees in the Bill of Rights create a zone of privacy that encompasses the intimate marital relationship, rendering state bans on contraceptive use by married couples unconstitutional.
Supporting sources
Yes. The right to keep and bear arms is incorporated through the Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause, so most Bill of Rights protections apply to state governments.
Supporting sources
…he is not more responsible to the President than to any other citizen. It provides that he shall receive from the President all bills, orders, resolutions and votes of the Senate and House which have been approved and signed, cause them to be published and distributed, carefully preserve the originals and cause them to be…