WRITING STUDENT CONGRESS BILLS MADE EASY

A bill is nothing but an idea which is written out in a logical, easy to use format. Your task is to pick an idea and write it in such a way that it will be passed into law. By following the steps below, anyone can write a simple bill.

Step One: Pick an idea.
Pick an idea that you truly believe should be a law, but remember that your legislation must have federal jurisdiction.  There are many sources of good ideas. Take the time to look at news magazines, local and national newspapers, 60 Minutes, and the evening news broadcasts. Information you gather will also help you when you're debating the issue.

Stay away from: 
•   Overdone topics such as legalization of prostitution, legalization of marijuana use, legalizing gay marriage, etc
•   A bill or law that already exists
•   Ideas that are too far out for most people who want to talk about (such as registration of Irish Cloth 
     patterns),
•	Subjects that are too complex to be addressed in a one-page, double-spaced piece of legislation.

Step Two: Think of what needs to happen for your law to be effective.
Your idea needs help for it to happen. If it doesn't need help, then you don't need a law. What does it need? Often an idea will need money or a way to enforce the idea.
•	If you ask for money...know how much and why you need that much money.  Try not to just guess 
     at how much you'll need.
•	There are many ways of enforcing your idea. The most often used are prison sentences, fines, and/or expulsion from conducting business (such as banning from trading stock for 10 years, banned from professional baseball, etc.).

Step Three: Fill in the blanks.
Using the form below (or any similar template), fill in your ideas. (Lines are numbered for easy reference; when typing your bill, remember that, to avoid putting periods after each number, you can “customize” your list.)

  1   (Title)                                                    A BILL TO . . .
   2   Be it enacted by this Student Congress that (Write the main idea that you want to happen.)___________
   3    ____________________________________________________________ _______________________
   4  Section 1:  (If necessary, explain your idea further.  You may need even more sections to outline the idea
   5   fully.)________________________________________________________________________________
   6  Section 2:  (Explain how the law will be enforced—who will do it, what will the penalties be? You might___                           
   7  decide to use subsections to present these points in an outline form.)______________________________
   8  Section 3:  (State how the legislation will be funded if it will require a public expenditure—an additional__ 
   9  tax, a surcharge on some product or service, a different allocation of current funds,  etc.)______________
10  Section 4:  (State directly when the legislation will take effect and what current law(s) will be superseded 
11  by the proposed law.)____________________________________________________________________ 
                                                                                      Respectfully submitted,
                                                                                      Your name or school       	

General outline suggestions: These are VERY flexible:  many bills only have three sections and some have seven or eight sections!  Frequently, you may need subsections to clarify your points.

HOW BILLS ARE DIFFERENT FROM RESOLUTIONS

A bill . . .
•	is a law  
(Remember:  This is a national Congress; therefore, the legislation, whether bills or resolutions, must be within the jurisdiction of the Federal government, not the state or local governments.  Also remember: the government of the United States is based on a balance of power and a system of checks and balances; therefore, Congress cannot assume duties delegated to the executive or judicial branches.)

•	states its several parts in numbered sections, all of which may have subsections that define and clarify the actions required by the law it proposes

•	never includes “whereas clauses”

•	begins with the words “Be it enacted by the Student Congress here assembled     . . .” or a similar wording

•	states the required action, the penalties for not conforming to that action, the cost of enforcing that action, the funding source(s) for that enforcement, and which laws are nullified by its passage
	
A resolution . . .
•	is not a law

•	is a gesture, a laudable idea, a recommend-ation, or a statement of the sense of the legislative body:  it does not require enforce-ment by any governmental agency

•	is the only acceptable format for an amend-ment to the Constitution

•	is not a substitute for a law because its writer did not do enough research to state the enforcement and funding mechanisms for a law

•	states its several parts in Whereas clauses, which are not numbered and which list the justification for the resolution

•	ends with the words “Be it resolved by the Student Congress here assembled . . .” or a similar wording

•	cannot impose any penalties, enforce any action, or require any expenditures	

Fill in the blanks below with the best word—Bill or Resolution.

A 				 to Honor the United States Olympic Basketball Team
A 				 to Limit the Presidency to One Six-Year Term
A 				 to Limit Presidential Campaign Spending
A 				 to Support Bilateral Peace Talks in the Middle East
A 				 to Promote Alternative Energy Sources
A 				 to Make English the Official Language of the United States
A 				 to Provide Educational Opportunities for Iraqi War Veterans
A 				 to Remedy the Mortgage-Lending Crisis
A  				 to Make September 11 a Federal Holiday
A 				 to Create a National Handgun Registry
A 				 to Fund a Public-Option Health Care Plan

Adapted from “Coaching Beginners in Student Congress” by Don Schulte  
The Rostrum, January, 2007