Bills, once they become laws, seem to be archived and internally published somehow. I wonder how the executive branch picks up on and implements them when/after this happens.
Someone, somewhere in the federal executive departments and agencies must read these publications and ensure/oversee the implementation of new laws, and ensure existing ones are abided as well.
Is there a name, law or documentation for or documentary about this process or job?
Bills, once they become laws, seem to be archived and internally published somehow
They're published in the United States Statutes at Large, and (for permanent provisions) are incorporated into the US Code (USC).
Someone, somewhere in the federal executive departments and agencies must read these publications and ensure/oversee the implementation of new laws, and ensure existing ones are abided as well.
Each title and chapter of the USC defines which government agency is responsible for enforcing it. That government agency will then draft and publish regulations to implement the law, which once approved, are published in the Federal Register and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).
The regulations in the CFR are the government's interpretation of the USC statute and are the legal authority for the agencies' actions, unless a court decides otherwise. Judicial precedents are also a legal authority within the jurisdiction where they're given, which is why sometimes regulations are applied in certain jurisdictions but not in others (based on District/Circuit courts' decisions).
The executive branch will always know if a bill has become law because they are the final step in the process for turning a bill into law. The only time this isn't the case is when a president vetos a bill and that is overridden by a 2/3rd vote in both the house in the senate.
The Bill Is Sent to the President When a bill reaches the President, he has three choices. He can:
- Sign and pass the bill—the bill becomes a law.
- Refuse to sign, or veto, the bill—the bill is sent back to the U.S. House of Representatives, along with the President’s reasons for the veto. If the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate still believe the bill should become a law, they can hold another vote on the bill. If two-thirds of the Representatives and Senators support the bill, the President’s veto is overridden and the bill becomes a law.
- Do nothing (pocket veto)—if Congress is in session, the bill automatically becomes law after 10 days. If Congress is not in session, the bill does not become a law.
The Bill Is a Law
If a bill has passed in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate and has been approved by the President, or if a presidential veto has been overridden, the bill becomes a law and is enforced by the government.
Agencies also have staff counsel that review bills and provide briefings and advice to agency heads and staff.
The legislature and the executive branches operate separately from a separation of powers point of view, but that doesn't mean they're completely siloed off from each other. Executive agencies frequently work with Congress on bills that may impact their programs and operations.
Executive agencies will have Legislative Affairs offices that work as a bridge between Congress and the agency. It's their job to keep track of proposed legislation that may be relevant to their agency's work, to engage with Members and congressional staff on legislative proposals, and to communicate back to their agency's leadership about legislative events of interest. So the executive branch isn't just passively sitting back and discovering bills only after they've become law; they're constantly engaging with the legislative process and are well aware of new law and proposed legislation.
In addition, executive agencies have a General Counsel's office, which provides legal advice to the agency (depending on the situation, they may engage with other parts of the government like the Department of Justice or Office of Management and Budget on this where necessary). That office would be involved in reviewing the new law—ideally well before it becomes a law—and would provide guidance to agency management on what actions need to be taken to implement it. The exact details of this are going to vary somewhat from agency to agency; the process for the IRS to implement a major new tax bill (formulating new regulations, updating informational publications and internal manuals, changing tax forms, updating and testing computer systems, etc) will be different than the process for USPS to carry out a post office renaming.
In some cases, that implementation process would involve drafting new regulations or amending existing ones, which would go through the full rulemaking process before being finalized.
Here is something that nobody has mentioned so far: any Bill requires a sponsor who will propose it, lobby for it, call in favours, whatever it takes to get the Bill passed. So, imagine that it becomes law, by being signed or otherwise (see answer by @Joe W), and then the Executive "forgets" to implement it. I'd expect the sponsor to do whatever it takes to get the law noticed.
