Facts - The Bundestag at a glance - Deutscher Bundestag

At first reading, the discussion is generally
about basic principles. In many
cases, the House will decide to shorten
this stage by referring the bill without
debate to the competent committees.
In committee, the bill is probed by
specialised politicians from all of the
parliamentary groups, who examine its
substance and its implications. Hearings
of experts can also be arranged for
this purpose. The second reading of the
bill is then held in the plenary chamber;
at this stage it is generally accompanied
by proposed amendments. Only after
this discussion can the third reading
and the final vote take place.
This means that the Members of Parliament
vote on every bill, which they do
either by standing up or by a show of
hands. It can happen that the result is
not clear or that the Chamber Presiding
Committee cannot agree on the outcome.
In such cases the Hammelsprung
system of division doors is used, in
which all Members leave the chamber
and re-enter it by one of three doors,
marked Ja, Nein and Enthaltung (abstention).
Two secretaries are stationed
at each door to count the Members
through, and in this way a clear result is
obtained. The Hammelsprung method is
also used if doubts are expressed before
a vote as to the presence of a quorum
and the Presiding Committee does not
ascertain that there is a quorum.
7
Every bill is examined and discussed
by Bundestag committees.