This is a general summary of how Committee Bills are introduced and progress through the Parliament.
If a committee wants to introduce a Committee Bill, it first has to make a proposal. A report to the Parliament includes the proposal. The report:
Before it writes its report, the committee should:
The Parliament then debates the report and decides whether to agree with the proposal. If the Parliament agrees, the Convener gets the right to introduce the bill. At this point, the Scottish Government can stop the Convener introducing a bill, but only by promising that they will change the law in much the same way.
Sometimes a Committee Bill will be introduced very soon after the Convener gets the right to introduce it, but it may take months to get the bill ready.
The committee presents the bill to the Scottish Parliament. With the bill, the committee also provides:
If the committee wants, it can provide a Policy Memorandum (to explain why the bill has been introduced). But there is no need for a Policy Memorandum if it wouldn’t add anything to the explanation already given in the committee’s proposal report.
If a Committee Bill includes any “delegated powers”, a Delegated Powers Memorandum is needed to explain why. Delegated powers include powers given to Scottish Ministers to make new law, or change existing law, without this needing another bill.
Once a Committee Bill is introduced, it follows a 3-stage process. The stages of a Committee Bill are slightly different from the stages of a Government Bill.
Unlike a Government Bill or a Member’s Bill, a Committee Bill is not referred to a lead committee and there is no Stage 1 report. But there is usually some committee scrutiny at Stage 1 of the Financial Memorandum and the Delegated Powers Memorandum (if there is one).
Once those committees have finished their work, the whole Parliament debates the bill. The Parliament then decides whether it should go on to Stage 2 or be rejected.
At Stage 2, any MSP can propose changes to a bill. These are called “amendments”. The amendments are debated and then decided on by a committee, but this committee cannot be the same one that proposed the bill. Sometimes a new committee is set up to take Stage 2 of a Committee Bill.
If any amendments are agreed to at Stage 2, a new (amended) version of the bill is published. This is the version considered at Stage 3.
MSPs can propose further amendments to the bill at Stage 3. These are debated and decided on in the Debating Chamber, and at this stage all MSPs can vote on them. There is a debate and vote on whether to pass the bill. If the bill is not passed, it “falls” and doesn’t become law.
Following a challenge by Law Officers or the Secretary of State, the Parliament may decide to reconsider a Bill. The main purpose of a Reconsideration Stage is to allow the Bill to be amended to remove the basis on which it was blocked.
The Law Officers are the Attorney General, the Advocate General for Scotland and the Lord Advocate.
Law Officers can ask the Supreme Court (the highest court in the UK) to decide:
The Bill cannot be submitted for Royal Assent until the Supreme Court has made its decision.
The Secretary of State is the UK Government Cabinet Minister representing Scotland.
Sometimes a Bill cannot be submitted for Royal Assent because of an order issued by the Secretary of State. An order might be issued because the Secretary of State believes the Bill would:
At Reconsideration Stage, the bill is considered by all MSPs in the Debating Chamber.
MSPs can submit amendments to the Bill. Only amendments aimed at fixing the problem are allowed. Amendments cannot be submitted if the bill is being reconsidered because it needs to be passed by a super-majority.
MSPs discuss the Bill with these amendments and vote on each amendment. They then vote on if the bill should be approved.
The Law Officers can challenge a Bill again. The Secretary of State can issue a further order about the Bill.
There is no limit to the number of times that the Scottish Parliament may approve a Bill and that Bill is then challenged.
If the bill is passed, it is normally sent for Royal Assent after about 4 weeks. Royal Assent is when the bill gets formal agreement by the King and becomes an act of the Scottish Parliament.
Some acts become law straight after Royal Assent. Some only become law on a later date. Sometimes different parts of the same act become law on different dates.