United States Congress Joint Committee On Enrolled Bills - History

History

The enrollment process dates to the first years of Congress, with procedures to ensure its integrity initially laid out in Jefferson's Manual: "When a bill has passed both Houses of Congress, the House last acting on it notifies its passage to the other, and delivers the bill to the Joint Committee on Enrollment." From 1789 to 1876, the House and Senate had joint rules with similar requirements in relation to enrollment. In particular, these rules directed the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate to enroll bills and mandated a review (and any corrections, if necessary) by a joint committee, which would then report to the respective chambers.

In 1876, the rules for the joint committee lapsed, and the Committee on Enrolled Bills reverted to separate House and Senate standing committees. The committee continued to be referred to as a "joint committee," even though both the House and Senate committees separately supervised the enrolling of bills originated in its own house. Under the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 the functions of the Committee on Enrolled Bills were incorporated into those of the House Administration Committee. This lasted until the beginning of the 107th Congress, when jurisdiction over enrollment was transferred to the House Clerk and laid out in House Rules. The Senate transferred authority over the enrollment process to the Secretary of the Senate in 1945 upon adoption of S.Res. 64 (79th Congress), and is now incorporated in Senate Rule XIV.