Committees are groups of Members appointed to investigate, debate , and report on legislation. While they are not mentioned in the Constitution , committees have become an important part of the legislative process since their introduction during the first Congress in Created to help Members organize their work, committees were temporary in those early Congresses.
Over time, the amount of legislation considered by the U. House of Representatives increased and committees became a permanent way for Members to divide their work.
There are five different types of committees—standing committees, subcommittees, select committees, joint committees, and the Committee of the Whole.
The most common type of committee, standing committees consider bills and other legislation that is before the U. House of Representatives.
When a bill is introduced on the House floor, it is assigned a bill number and sent to a standing committee by the Speaker of the House. There are currently 20 standing committees, each covering a different area of public policy. A complete list of committees is available on the Office of the Clerk website. While in committee, a bill is reviewed, researched, and revised. Once the language is agreed upon, the committee sends the measure back to the full Senate.
Often it also provides a report that describes the purpose of the measure. For additional information about the role of committees in the legislative process, read the essays " About the Senate Committee System " and " Senate Committees. A committee system was preferred because it was felt that this was in line with the key principles outlined in Shaping Scotland's Parliament.
In particular, the committee system was designed to:. Committees carry out inquiries and call on witnesses to give evidence. These witnesses can be from pressure groups, professional groups, Government ministers or any individual or organisation that can offer information or advice. There is also a special committee known as the Public Petitions Committee which gives anyone living in Scotland direct access to the Parliament.
Any individual or group can make a request petition for the Parliament to:. The PPC will consider each petition and make a decision on the course of action to be taken in each case. The PPC has several courses of action it may take. Basically, it decides whether the parliament as a whole should debate the issues, a specific committee should deal with it or whether it is more appropriate for another body to consider the petition. Provided the subject matter is within the Scottish Parliament's remit i.
Committees scrutinise examine closely the work of the Scottish Government and have the power to question ministers on all aspects of the policies of the Government. Ministers must answer the questions. Committees have the power to carry out inquiries and then make recommendations to Parliament. This allows the committee to question the people who will be affected by changes in the law and ensure that their views are heard before changes are made.
Committees also have the power to introduce new legislation. All committee meetings, except those held in camera, are broadcast live over the Internet in both official languages on ParlVu, the House of Commons' webcast service. These unedited transcripts are prepared in the language that was spoken by the participants at the meeting. The official transcripts translated and edited are published as soon as possible after the meeting as the Evidence on the committee Web site, usually within 10 calendar days.
The Minutes of Proceedings are the official record of business that occurred during a meeting of the committee. The committee clerk prepares the Minutes and publishes them online as soon as possible after a meeting. Presenting a report to the House is the way a committee makes public its findings and recommendations on a particular topic. Reports are also available online.
The committee can ask the government to respond to its recommendations within calendar days after the presentation of the report. In addition, pursuant to the Standing Orders, dissenting or supplementary opinions i. Committees share information on their website and on Twitter. Check in regularly on ourcommons. Parliamentary Business Parliamentary Business - Home. The House. Procedural Reference Material Library of Parliament.
Parliamentary Diplomacy.
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