Nature of Private Bills
A private bill may benefit the private
interest of a particular individual or group of individuals in one of two
ways: [13]
- The bill may supplement the general
law by granting the beneficiary power to do something which cannot be done
otherwise; or
- The bill may alter the general law
by exempting the beneficiary from some existing legal
obligation.
Thus, a bill which allows a group of
individuals to form a type of corporation not provided for in the general law
would be an example of a bill which supplements the general
law. [14]
A bill which
exempts an existing corporation from a general provision of a statute applicable
to all such corporations would be an example of a private bill which derogates
from the general
law. [15]
Legislation
which authorizes the marriage of two blood relations would be another example of
a bill exempting one or more persons from the general
law. [16]
A bill may affect the private interest of
an individual or a defined class of individuals and yet not be considered a
private bill. [17]
In
order that a bill be designated as private, it should not and cannot include any
feature of public policy because such characterization would transcend any
private nature it may
have. [18]
A bill
should be introduced as a public bill when it affects public policy, when it
proposes to amend or repeal a public act, or when it affects a large area and
multiplicity of interests. [19]