legislative bill writing ymca texas youth & government

Legislative Bill Writing

YMCA Texas Youth & Government

PREVIEW

How a Bill becomes a law

YMCA Texas Youth and Government


GUIDELINES FOR BILL WRITERS

1. All bill topics must abide by our values of caring, honesty, respect and responsibility.

2. We are honored to use the Capitol facilities in Austin, TX. Bill topics should honor this privilege by being well researched,relevant and respectful.

3. Students need to generate a new bill each year.

4. All bills need to have ONE author per bill. Exceptions must be cleared by District Director, State Director and/or State Legislative Section Leaders..



5. Club advisors must clear bill topic prior to student writing the bill.

6. Bill topic MUST not be on the Bill Banned List.

7. Students must use the bill template provided. You can download it at www.ymcatexasyg.org.

8. Students must abide by all deadlines provided by District Director and State Director

9. Review Legislative Basics at www.ymcatexasyg.org

10. Research! Practice!



TIPS

So you want to write a bill? Well, the first thing to remember is this: a good idea is not necessarily a good bill. In other words, just because something would help the State of Texas does not mean that it is a good bill topic for Youth and Government delegates.

Seem strange? Well, here's why: Youth and Government bills need to be ideas that can be debated effectively. That means that a bill about requiring State Prisons to use only recycled paper probably is not so good because no one will want to argue about it!



TIPS: Really good arguing can only happen if a few other things happen. We have broken it all down for you. Here is what we think makes a good bill:

• Debatability-- people are going to want to argue about your bill from both sides of the issue. If you can not think of an argument against your bill, you should probably pick a different one!

• Importance to Texas-- the idea here is that a bill that affects a lot of people or a wide variety of people is better than a bill that only affects a few people or a narrow range of people. If a topic has been in newspapers, internet or on TV, then it may be a good bill topic.



TIPS: Really good arguing can only happen if a few other things happen. We have broken it all down for you. Here is what we think makes a good bill:

• Feasibility--your bill idea could actually work the way you want it to in the real world; it's realistic.

• Researchability--you are going to be able to find facts, statistics, and news articles supporting your idea.

The KEY to a good bill is that it is an idea that you care very much about. The more passionate you feel about your bill, the more you will want to put the work in that will make it successful.


Bill Topic/Subject

Bill topics must cover state issues and not

federal issues.

Additional information/handouts will be given to

you to help you select your bill topic.

Once your topic is chosen and approved by an

advisor, you are ready to start writing your bill.


Bill Topic/Subject

EDUCATION1. The Texas Higher Education Board eliminated 64 major options for

college students

2. Statewide standardized testing results in teaching towards a test rather than overall learning

3. 55.5% of Texas students are categorized as economically disadvantaged

4. Texas ranks 47th out 50 in SAT scores

5. There has been an increase in drug and tobacco use in students of the D.A.R.E Program

6. Texas’ low high school graduation rate

7. Lack of effective foreign-language education in Texas

8. English second language (ESL) students and the disadvantages they face on standardized tests

9. Strain on the high school system by disinterested and delinquent students


Bill Topic/Subject

CIVIL LIBERTIES10. The effects the Affordable Care Act has on Texas businesses

11. The government’s role in promoting salary equality

12. Criminalization of substance abuse is ineffective in Texas

13. Death penalty in Texas

14. Texting and driving

TECHNOLOGY15. Decrease in NASA funding

16. Effects on the local ecology concerning fracking

17. Lack of sufficient Texas drone regulations

18. Driverless car regulations in Texas


Bill Topic/Subject

HEALTH19. Failure to label GMO products in Texas

20. The lingering problem of teen substance abuse

21. Animal Testing in Texas

22. A great deal of Texas citizens do not have health insurance

ECONOMY23. Economic measures to support new businesses in Texas

24. Regulation of purchases with unemployment checks.

25. High poverty rate in Texas

26. Affirmative action hurts Texas businesses


Bill Topic/Subject

NATIONAL & FOREIGN AFFAIRS27. Immigration across Texas/Mexican Border

28. Incarceration of illegal immigrants

29. Police brutality

30. The extremely high incarceration rate in the United States


Bill Topic/Subject

BANNED TOPICS FOR ALL HIGHSCHOOL AND MIDDLE SCHOOL:Same sex marriageLegalization of MarijuanaChild AbusePolice Wearing Body Camera’sHoliday Sales TaxAbortion

No bills will be accepted that have anything to do with these topics. Topics are banned when we had several years of students writing on the same topic.

Bill Template



Caption

The caption of the bill is that portion of the

bill placed at the very beginning which

expresses the topic/subject of the bill.

The most common wording for the

beginning of the caption is “An act

relating to___________________”,


Caption

But if you want to limit possible amendments to

your bill, more specific language can be

chosen such as “An act prohibiting, limiting,

increasing, etc.__________________.”

Please note that in a Y&G bill, the caption

must always end with the words “and declaring

an emergency.”


Caption

An act

________________________________

________________________________

________________________________

________________________________

and declaring an emergency.


Provisions

The Provision Section of the bill is the most important section of the bill. This is where the law itself will be stated or any change to an existing law will be stated. If passed, the provisions of the bill become part of the Texas State Statues. For that reason, formal language should be used.


Provisions

You should not express your personal opinions in the provisions. That will be done when you debate the bill. The provisions must contain positive action words and phrases such as “shall”, “must”, “shall be punished by”, “shall be required”, etc. Words and phrases to avoid include “would”, “should”, “will”, or any statement not requiring or prohibiting specific actions.


Provisions: Good Example

“The maximum speed for any motor vehicle traveling on a public roadway in the state of Texas shall be set at fifty miles per hour.” A bad provision might read, “Cars traveling in Texas should not drive as fast as they do.”


Provisions

Note that provisions cannot conflict with the caption (intent) of the bill.


Provisions

Depending on the subject matter of your bill, you might need only one provision or you might need several. Taking into considerationwhat you have read about provisions, write your provisions in thefollowing blanks. If you need more than three provisions, add them.

A

B

C


Penalties

The Penalty Section is optional depending on the specific nature of the bill. Most bills will actually need penalties to enforce the law that is being established. Any bill that makes an act a crime must provide a penalty or penalties. The penalties should always be reasonable for the crime (8th Amendment of the US Constitution).


Penalties

Some bills will not need penalties. An example would be a bill establishing a new state agency. Once the bill passes, the agency will be created. The government would not fine itself for not establishing the agency; they must establish it by the very law itself.


Penalties

Determine if your bill needs penalties to enforce the law that it is creating. (Ask your advisor to help you determine whether or not you need penalties.)

If they are needed, list them in the blanks below. Some bills will only need one penalty, but other bills might need several.

If you need to add more than three penalties, write them on the back of this page. If you do not need penalties, you can cross out this section of the worksheet.

A

B

C


Review

Now review your bill to see if there are any words used in the Caption, Provisions, or Penalties that need to be defined. If you determine that there are, return to your Definition Section and list and define the words. If you need to define more than three words, write additional ones on the back of that page. If you do not need to define any words, cross out the definition section of the worksheet.


Definitions

• Some bills will need definitions depending on the words used in the Caption, Provisions, and/or Penalties.

• Even though the Definition Section is first on your bill, you will need to come back to this section after you have completed your provisions and penalties.

• Only words that are technical, unfamiliar or ambiguous should be defined.

• If you do not need to include definitions in your bill, when you enter your bill on the template, you will delete that section from your bill template and renumber the sections.


Definitions

After completing your Provision and Penalties Sections, if you determine that you need to define some words, list them and define them:

A

B

C


Effective Date

The Effective Date listed on the bill template (form) is the effective date that nearly all bills should use, but there are some bill subjects that would be exceptions. Since the Youth and Government Youth Legislature meets and adjourns in January or February, the laws would go into effect in April or May. If your bill changes a course requirement for the public schools in Texas, it would be impossible to add a required course in April or May. Therefore, the effective date for a law like that should be at the beginning of the following school year. Ask your advisor to help you determine the appropriate effective date for your bill.


REPEALER CLAUSE, SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, or the EMERGENCY CLAUSE.

Do not make any changes to the:REPEALER CLAUSESEVERABILITY CLAUSEEMERGENCY CLAUSE

Leave the text as is.


Bill Template

Now you are ready to enter this information on the bill template (form).


Steps to Entering On Bill Template

1. Double click on the heading to enter the appropriate information.

2. Do not change the words at the top of the page that read: A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

3. Be sure that you end the caption with the words, “and declaring an emergency.”

4. Also do not delete the statement, “Be it enacted by the YMCA Youth Legislature of the State of Texas”

5. As you list definitions, provisions, or penalties, use capital letters (A. B. C…..) Follow basic outlining rules: if you only have one provision, definition, or penalty, you do not use an A to designate the provision, etc.



6. If you do not have any definitions, delete the DEFINITION section and renumber the PROVISION section as Roman numeral #I.

7. If you do not have a PENALTIES section, delete this section and renumber the additional sections with the correct, consecutive Roman numeral.

8. If you need a different EFFECTIVE DATE than the one listed, change the effective date that is on the template.

9. Do not make any changes to the REPEALER CLAUSE, SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, or the EMERGENCY CLAUSE.



10. When you save the bill, use Save As and save your bill under your own name.


HELPFUL LINKS

http://www.texastransparency.org/moneygoes/ http://www.hro.house.state.tx.us/ http://www.senate.state.tx.us/ http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/

MeetingsSenate.aspx http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/


HELPFUL LINKS

http://www.lrl.state.tx.us/legis/TexasLawTimeLine.cfm

http://www.sll.state.tx.us/ http://www.tlc.state.tx.us/ https://www.tsl.state.tx.us/arc/arclegis.html http://www.lbb.state.tx.us/


Congratulations

You have completed writing your Bill!

Submit it to your Advisor to review/edit. Be sure to save any edits that you have made

to your bill. Submit final copy to your Advisor. Make sure to bring a copy of your bill to the

Conference.

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