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Subject: structure of legislation
- From: "Bruce Nevin (bnevin)" <bnevin@cisco.com>
- To: <dita-busdocs@lists.oasis-open.org>
- Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2010 12:28:59 -0500
The second category that I looked
into:
Structure of
Legislation
Capitalizing the
words “WHEREAS” and “RESOLVED” in resolutions, and “SECTION” in bills, as well
as inverse-indenting each clause or section helps to distinguish between ideas
and concepts. Conventions for written structure of legislation differ in various
leagues and regions. The suggestions herein are based on a synthesis of the
various formats, as well as format used by the U.S. Congress....
WHEREAS,
<shortdesc>[Statement of problem in one brief
sentence]</shortdesc>
; and WHEREAS, [Scope of problem].
; and
WHEREAS, [Impact and harms]
; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED by [legislative
body] here assembled that:
[Recommendation, call for action]
; and, be it
FURTHER RESOLVED, that [optional further recommendation].
Introduced by
[sponsor(s)]
Title
Some
metadata for <prolog> (bill number, type of legislation (bill, resolution
[various types of resolutions]).
Preamble: Whereas [justification for
government action]
Body:
Section (one or more): [Idea for
implementation]
Subsection (zero or more): [further detail
and clarification (definitions, etc.) ]
Enactment: [date when
effective]
Enactment Clause:
This is the final section of the bill (and can be labeled as a section as
normal). EACH BILL MUST HAVE AN ENACTMENT CLAUSE!! The enactment clause tells
your fellow congressmen when your bill will take effect if passed. It may
specify a future date (September 30, 2005) or a certain number of days following
the passage of the bill (60 days after passage). Enactment dates within 30 days
of passage are used for EMERGENCY legislation only. Enactment dates more than 90
days after passage is used for most legislation and is the enactment period for
normal legislation.
Example bills and a
template at this site.
The body of a piece
of legislation consists of two major parts: (1) Reasons why this legislation is
necessary; and (2) Actions that should be taken due to those reasons.
The
first part of the body consists of "whereas" clauses which outline the
arguments, facts, and circumstances supporting the action to be taken. Each
"whereas" clause except the last, ends in ";". The next-to-last clause ends in
"; and".
The last "whereas" clause ends in ": Now, therefore, be it". This
leads into the second part of the body, which begins with "Enacted," (for Bills
and Executive Appointments) or "Resolved," (for Resolutions).
Following this
phrase are sections which describe what is being enacted or resolved. Each
section ends with ";". The next-to-last section ends with "; and", and the last
ends with ".". Section numbers may be used, but are not always necessary.
The
final part of a piece of legislation are the signers.
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