Legislation is introduced into the Ontario Legislature in the form of a bill. There are two types of bills: Public Bills and Private Bills. Public bills are introduced by cabinet ministers (a government bill) or by any other MPP (a private member's public bill) and usually affect the entire province. A private bill is normally introduced by the member whose riding the bill concerns. These bills usually affect a particular individual or corporation.

A bill goes through several stages before becoming law. The process starts with the sponsoring member who presents a motion for the introduction and first reading of the bill and explains the bill's objectives. MPPs then decide on whether to accept the bill for future debate. If the decision is yes, the bill is assigned a number, printed and scheduled for second reading debate. Each member receives a copy of the bill. Second reading is usually scheduled for several days later to give MPPs time to study the proposed bill.

During second reading, MPPs discuss the principle of the bill and are allowed to speak once during the debate. After the debate, the MPPs vote on whether to let the bill proceed to the next step which is usually the committee stage. In some cases, a bill may move directly to third reading.

Bills often go to a standing or select committee to be studied in detail. Each section of the bill is discussed and a vote is taken on each section. For more information on the committee process, please see the detailed section entitled Committees.

Depending on the bill, the committee stage may last anywhere from a few days to several months. After the bill has been thoroughly examined, the committee will report to the House. The bill may be moved to the Committee of the Whole House or directly into final debate.

After a bill is given a third reading, the Speaker calls for a final vote to be taken. The bill then goes to the Lieutenant Governor for Royal Assent. The procedure is called Royal Assent because the Lieutenant Governor is agreeing to the bill on behalf of the Queen. Only after assent do bills become an act or statute, of the Legislature. In other words, the bill now becomes law.

A law however, does not always come into effect with Royal Assent. In some cases, the law specifies another date when it will come into effect. In others, it states that the effective date will be decided later by the Cabinet. When a date is chosen, it must be approved by the Lieutenant Governor and fixed by proclamation. There are some laws that are never proclaimed and occasionally, only part of a law is proclaimed. These unproclaimed laws or parts of laws never take effect.

For more information, please visit the web site of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario