Overview

This seminar stresses learning by doing. Participants will convert specific legislative proposals into the drafting of bills. Instruction will include the basics in drafting common statutory provisions. The United States legislative process will be introduced as a case study.

Format

The seminar will be delivered through 10 live on-Line sessions via Zoom videoconferencing platform. Each session will last approximately 3.5 hours and will start at 7:30am Washington DC time (Eastern Standard Time). We expect the class to be highly interactive and will include presentations, case studies and exercises.

Course Outline

Legislative Drafting Principles and Analysis

• Applying legislative drafting principles and analysis to proposals for new legislation

Elements of Legislative Drafting: Rules and Exercises

• Achieving the intended legal effect
• Drafting clear legislative sentences
• Structuring and organizing bills and other legislation
• Drafting amendments, repeals, and superseding language to existing law

Hands-On Drafting of Legislation

• Drafting bills from specific legislative proposals

Drafting Common Legislative Provisions

• Enforcement provisions
• "Power of the purse" funding provisions
• Grant programs
• Governmental commissions

Legislative Process

• Development of legislative policy
• Comparison of U.S. and foreign legislative processes
• Implementation of trade agreements through domestic legislation
• Role of legislative committees in developing legislation
• Role of professional legislative services and other legislative support services
• Statutory Interpretation
  

Course Coordinator – Jeff Ziarnik has coordinated over 20 high level ILI legislative drafting seminars over the last decade and in addition more than 100 other seminars, including legislative seminars not focused specifically on drafting. He has a J.D. from the Western Michigan University Cooley School of Law and has a Bachelor of Science in History and Political Science from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Prior to law school, Jeff was a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in The Gambia.

Traditional Faculty for this seminar include:

Arthur J. Rynearson, former Deputy Legislative Counsel of the United States Senate
Anthony C. Coe, former Senior Counsel, United States Senate Office of the Legislative Counsel
Polly Craighill, former Senior Counsel, United States Senate Office of the Legislative Counsel