Legislative Drafting Workshop Drafting Federal Legislation and Amendments and Advanced Legislative Drafting Our 2-day Legislative Drafting Workshop consists of two separate 1-day courses. The first day is an introduction to drafting legislation, and the second day gives a limited number of attendees the chance to draft legislation and get feedback from an experienced drafter. Day … Read more
Learning to research and understand legislative history is an important part of any legislator’s job. Legislative history includes the official reports that are generated in Congress throughout the course of the legislative process, such as committee reports and joint statements. photo credit: EverJean When researching case law, be aware that court decisions can frequently include … Read more
Advanced Legislative Strategies photo credit: garryknight This advanced three-day course builds on the skills of those who have already learned the legislative process and basic congressional operations. In this course, participants learn how to develop high-level strategies and tactics to help educate Congress and influence legislation. August 3-5, 2011, 9 am – 4 pm all … Read more
The executive power of the United States is vested by the Constitution in a president. For instance, Article II, Section 3, states that the President shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient … Read more
When drafting federal legislation, it is important to ensure you are using the correct style. Style refers to the look and feel of a measure. While it might be assumed that style refers to the words that are used, style actually refers to the way in which words are placed on the page, a combination … Read more
After a policy has been thought through, the next step is to begin crafting the words that will be used. The goal at this stage is not identifying the focus, but expressing it as effectively as possible. There is no special language that is used for writing legislation. Effective drafting requires clear writing. There must … Read more
Legislative drafts can fail for two reasons. Some fail because of poor communication while others fail due to a lack of imagination. Whenever there is a lack of communication, in most cases the draft is simply not clear. Common sense editing can usually resolve this problem. Whenever there is a lack of imagination, the draft … Read more
The ugly back and forth on the power of special interests that has shaped the U.S. Senate primary contest [in Colorado] pitting Andrew Romanoff against Michael Bennet has so far turned mostly on abstractions and circumstantial speculations. Former state House Speaker Romanoff has railed against big money donors and highlighted Bennet votes he thought raised … Read more