Bill Writing Procedures--A Resource for Advisors

     This resource will provide the advisor with background information about bill writing. Included in this resource is information on formal legislation as well as how to write a bill.  A separate bill writing lesson plan has been provided for you to use with your students.  You may use it as it is, or use it as a starting point for your own lesson.

School Board members Local business leaders County Commissioners State Senators and Representatives Superintendent of Schools

Lobbyists Teachers Union Leaders Public officials

Ministers Social Workers City Officials Newspapers and editors

Housing Education Labor-Management Relations Taxation Agriculture Business and Professions Water

State Institutions and Agencies Public Health and Safety Senior Citizens Hunger Civil Rights Crime Motor vehicle control Fish and Game

Recreation Veterans Affairs Indian Affairs Unemployment Pollution Racial Problems

Respect for the dignity of the individual Freedom of enterprise and opportunity Respect for private property Majority rule The indispensable opposition

Right of petition and assembly The search for truth Freedom of speech and press Freedom of religion Universal support of education

The bill must include: Title Enacting Clause Body of the Bill Sections Effective Date Penalty

Sections: Sections are similar to paragraphs with complete thoughts. Read all instructions first. Study the bill contained herein which is a sample of the form students are to use. They should say what they want to say in as few words as possible.  Students should use the present tense and indicative mood. The law is regarded as speaking in the present and continuously. The subjective mood has no place in an act because statutes deal with facts, not with hypothetical cases.

Effective Date: All bills need to have a time when the bill becomes effective.

Penalty: The bill must specify a penalty for non-compliance of the law.

Additional Information:

1. All bills must carry the names of the SPONSORS who will introduce the bill and the name of their school.
2. Bills will be assigned a house of origin (senate or house).
3. All bills must be received in the Youth In Government office by the deadline.
4. Be consistent and use the same arrangement and form of expression throughout unless the meaning requires variations. Consistency helps to avoid having different meanings placed on similar provisions.
5. Select short, familiar words and phrases that best express the intended meaning according to common and approved usage. Do not use synonyms, and do not use the same word in different senses. Use pronouns only if their antecedents are unmistakable. Do not use the words "said," "aforesaid," "hereinabove," "before mentioned," "whatsoever," or similar words of reference or emphasis. Avoid using the word "such" where an article may be used.
6. Brevity is important. Omit every needless word. If a word has the same meaning as a phrase, use the word. Use the shortest sentences which bring out the meaning intended. For example, use "may" instead of "is authorized to." Courts consider each word and endeavor to give it meaning. Unnecessary language is more likely to mislead than to help.
7. Use definitions only when a word is used in a sense other than its dictionary meaning, or is used in the sense of one of several dictionary meanings; to avoid repetition of a phrase; to limit or extend the provisions of a bill. Place definitions at the beginning of the bill.
8. Numbers, figures, monetary sums, dates, age and time should always be expressed in words.
9. Deal with only one subject that is expressed accurately in the title of the bill.
10. The bill must conform to the provisions of the constitution of the state of Michigan and the United States.
11. The bill must be capable of being easily applied.
12. If the bill proposes a new law, it should be divided into sections as short as possible in view of the subject matter. If the bill amends an existing law, each section amended constitutes a separate section of the bill: the proper method of indicating what is to be amended and what the amendment are must be followed.
13. Each separate section of the bill will be numbered consecutively in order.
14. Definitions of terms, if needed, will be included in an early part of the bill.
15. Permanent and general provisions should come first.
16. Temporary provisions should be grouped together as far as subject matter allows.
17. Formal procedure matter should be put later in the bill.
18. Dependent clauses should follow those on which they depend.
19. Bills providing for the cancellation of a law, or part of a law, should contain a repealing clause showing what is repealed.

Bills that won't be accepted Bills not in correct form Bills not submitted online Bills not of a state issue Bills that denigrate any part of the population

Preparing Good Legislation

     Every kind of legislation that is passed and signed by the governor makes some change, great or small, in the lives of the people of the state. Each legislator should consider carefully the intention of the proposal, and should weigh the public need against his suggested solution before sponsoring or voting on any bill. Such careful analysis will help him/her to decide whether to vote "yes" or "no" or to propose improving amendments.

     As he or she analyzes each problem and the proposed legislative solution, the legislator will add a measure of his own philosophy concerning the proper role of government. Here are some considerations regarding new legislation which may help the youth legislator, and which should be used as guidelines in evaluating bills.

1. Does this bill truly serve the public interest? That is, does it improve the use of the state's human, material, or natural resources?
2. How will it affect the nature of government? Is it permitted by the federal and state constitutions? Could the function be performed better at some other level of government? Would it be better handled by government, by private enterprise, or by some combination? What will it cost now and in the future? Can the cost be met from existing taxes, or must new taxes or service charges be imposed? Is it worth the cost?
3. How will it affect the overall structure of government? What part or parts of government should be assigned administrative responsibilities? What is the most effective way of providing the service?

How an Idea becomes a Law in the Michigan State Legislature

1. The legislator prepares a bill or a proposed law with the help of professional bill drafters in the Legislative Service Bureau. Its fiscal aspects are researched by the fiscal agency. The regular staffs of the House and Senate are members of the legislative team at all these stages.
2. After the bill is drafted, the legislator introduces it by filing the bill with the secretary of the senate or the clerk of the house.
3. The bill is read twice by title only, except in rare instances, and referred to the appropriate committee.
4. The committee studies the bill, calls in experts in the field to counsel its members on all its aspects, conducts hearings for interested citizens, and finally - after long hours of work - takes action. A majority vote of the committee is needed to report the bill to the floor of the House or Senate.
5. The bill is placed on the daily calendar for debate. At this stage in the procedure, the legislature technically stops being a House or Senate and becomes the committee of the whole. No final vote on a bill can be taken until the committee of the whole again becomes a House or Senate.
6. When the bill has been approved by the committee of the whole, it is advanced to the stage of final passage, or third reading. The bill is read a third time and the roll call is taken.
7. The bill is then sent to the opposite chamber where the same action is taken. Instead of being drafted again, however, the bill is received, read twice and then is referred to a committee.
8. If both chambers pass the bill, it returns to the chamber in which it started for enrollment, then is sent to the governor.
9. In Michigan the governor has 14 days, measured in hours and minutes, to consider the bill. If he/she approves,  he/she must sign it within the time limit and send it to the Secretary of State. With this action, the bill, which started as a problem, an idea, a pressing need, becomes a law.
10. If he/she disapproves, he must state his objections and return the bill to the house in which it originated within 14 days. This is the process of the governor's veto power. The House and Senate can override the governor's veto with a two-thirds vote in each house and the bill still becomes law.
11. If the governor neither signs the bill into law nor vetoes it within 14 days, it becomes law as if he/she had signed it.
12.  Under our Constitution "No act shall take effect or be in force until the expiration of ninety days from the end of the session at which the same is passed, but the legislature may give immediate effect to acts by two-thirds vote of the members elected of each house."