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NEW LAWS WHO DIS?

There are several medical marijuana bills making their way through the Oklahoma Legislature that could have a large impact on the industry. You may be asking yourself, how are new laws even made? Well, I am here to break it down for you!

A law can come from many sources such as interest groups, government agencies, or the Governor. But this is just the idea stage. Someone, or more likely a group of people, then drafts the bill and files it.

The Oklahoma Legislature has a two-part system, the House, and the Senate. Both play a crucial role in the passing of bills to become laws. The bills always start with the House and may make it to the Senate.

The drafted bill is introduced by the Speaker of the House and undergoes First and Second Readings in the House. The Speaker then assigns it to a committee, or it goes directly to the calendar. Once a bill gets to the committee, the committee can decide if it passes or not. If the bill does not pass, the bill is dead. If the bill passes the committee or passes as amended, it makes it to General Order. This means it is available for the Floor Leader for possible scheduling for Floor Agenda. Once it makes it to the floor, the bill is explained, possibly amended, debated, and voted upon. There is a Third Reading and final passage by the House.

If the bill passes the House, it moves to the Senate in a similar manner. If it passes the Senate, it goes back to the House!

Once the bill goes back to the house if there are no amendments, the bill heads to the Governor. If the Governor signs the bill, it heads to the Secretary of State and it becomes a law at some point in the future.

If the bill is returned to the House with amendments, it may go to the Governor, but the House may refuse to agree to the amendments and the bill goes back to the committee.

If you would like to review a flow chart on this process, please follow this link:

https://www.okhouse.gov/information/CourseOfBills.aspx

For questions or more information email Jade@BICLegal.com

- Jade