New
government legislation can be initiated from any number of sources.
Often it comes from a government department and, on occasion, MLAs
will approach the Minister with ideas from their constituents.
Regardless of how the idea for legislation is generated, once the
idea has been approved by the Minister, the conceptual framework for
the bill is taken to Agenda & Priorities Committee and Cabinet for approval. It is then routed to one of the six Standing Policy
Committees for in-depth review. Following this process, the draft
then goes to caucus for discussion and approval. After caucus
review, the legislation, which by this time is close to a final
draft, goes to the Legislative Review Committee. This committee is
comprised of Ministers, MLAs and legal counsel, and it does a final
review of the legislation to ensure that the legal text contains the
policies that caucus intended.
Once
the Legislative Review Committee has approved the draft legislation,
it is printed in a final form and put on Notice in the official
papers of the Assembly. Anytime after that, it may be introduced as
a bill. It requires three readings, and review in the Committee of
the Whole before it can be passed. The new legislation may be
effective immediately, or it may have a later proclamation date.