An omnibus bill is a proposed law that covers a number of diverse or unrelated topics. Omnibus is derived from Latin and means "to, for, by, with or from everything". An omnibus bill is a single document that is accepted in a single vote by a legislature but packages together several measures into one or combines diverse subjects. Because of their large size and scope, omnibus bills limit opportunities for debate and scrutiny. Historically, omnibus bills have sometimes been used to pass controversial amendments. For this reason, some consider omnibus bills to be anti-democratic.
In the United States, omnibus bills are sometimes known as "Big Ugly" bills. Examples include reconciliation bills, combined appropriations bills, and private relief and claims bills.
Appropriations legislation
Omnibus legislation is routinely used by the United States Congress to group together the budgets of all departments in one year in an omnibus spending bill. For example, the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 was designed to help reduce the federal deficit by approximately $496 billion over five years through restructuring of the tax code.
Historical examples
During the 19th century, there were three notable omnibus bills. The Compromise of 1850 had five disparate provisions designed by Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky. His purpose was to pacify sectional differences that threatened to provoke the secession of the slave states. The Fugitive Slave Act was the most infamous of the five compromise components, and was almost universally excoriated by abolitionists, the chief exception being Sen. Daniel Webster of Massachusetts who prioritized preservation of the Union. Senator Thomas Hart Benton, a Missouri slaveholder, opposed the omnibus compromise as an "unmanageable mass of incongruous bills, each an impediment to the other...." Nonetheless, the bill passed Congress and accomplished its purpose. Disunion and civil war were delayed for a decade. The Omnibus Act of June 1868 admitted seven southern U.S. states as having satisfied the requirements of the Reconstruction Acts. The Omnibus Act of February 22, 1889 provided for the admission of four new states to the Union — North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Washington.
In the Republic of Ireland, the Second Amendment of the Constitution was an omnibus constitutional law, enacted in 1941, that made many unrelated changes to the country's fundamental law. Similarly, in New Zealand, an omnibus bill was passed in November 2016 that enacted legislation required for New Zealand to enter the Trans Pacific Partnership. Section 55 of the Constitution of Australia requires that laws imposing taxation "deal only with the imposition of taxation" and "deal with one subject of taxation only" ; other purported provisions in a piece of tax legislation are of no legal effect. This does not outlaw all omnibus bills, but renders unconstitutional any omnibus bill imposing taxation.
