Overview

This seminar focuses on skills necessary to sustain a modern legislature. Senators, Members and legislative staff at the National, State, and Regional Parliaments and Assemblies are ideal candidates for this seminar. Legislatures work under constant pressure to enact laws and review national policies efficiently and effectively in an ever-changing and complex environment. Working in this environment requires close attention to how the process is managed and how the institutions function and how they perform their functions. The focus of this seminar will be organizational structure and practical techniques for managing legislative institutions. Considering the ILI’s location in Washington, DC, references and site visits will be made to the U.S. Congress and a State Assembly.

Format

This seminar is offered exclusively for in-person participation. In-Person Only seminars usually start at 9:30 am Washington D.C. time. Daily sessions usually end at 4:00 pm. Breaks (including the lunch break) are allocated as appropriate. The classes are highly interactive and include presentations, case studies, exercises and site visits.

Course Outline

Legislative Organization

• Comparative analysis of legislative and parliamentary models
• Legislative structures at the State and Federal level (including unicameral and bi-cameral structures)
• Overview of the U.S. Congress and legislative process

Legislative Process and Operations

• Working with Leadership
• Appropriations process
• Budgeting, staffing, and training
• Legislative drafting
• Committee structure and functions
• Roles and responsibilities of legislative leadership

Legislative Oversight

• Scope of legislative oversight powers
• Legislative oversight of the Executive branch of government
• Developing effective relationships with the Executive branch

Legislative Support

• Effective allocation of staff to support member offices, committees, leadership and administrative services
• Determining what legislative support offices are appropriate for a specific country or state; e.g. research, legislative drafting, committees, administration and members’ offices
• Legislative Support Services: Congressional Research Service, Congressional Budget Office, Government Accountability Office

Site Visits

• United States Congress
• Library of Congress
• DC Area State Legislature

Course Advisor

H. Stephen Halloway is the Director of ILI’s Center for Comparative Legislative Management. He has over 35 years of experience in senior legal and policy positions in the U.S. Government, the U.S. Senate, the United Nations and the Inter-American Development Bank. He was Chief Regulatory Officer for the U.S. Department of Commerce and a civil rights attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice. He is co-founder of the Multilateral Procurement Group, an informal steering committee of multinational companies and consultants regularly doing business with the MDBs and UN.