CHAPTER 2

Lawmaking

Key Terms• Statutes • Appellate Courts• Supremacy Clause • Precedent• Bills• Tribal Council• Ordinance• Agency

• Treaty• Legislative Intent• Public Hearings• Trials• Appeals• Drafting • Extradition

Legislatures• Legislatures make laws • Lawmakers – voters, administrative agencies, or courts • Federal and State (primary lawmaking bodies)• U.S. Congress (Federal legislature)

Bi-cameral -having two separate and distinct lawmaking assemblies

House of Representative• Based on each state’s population• 435 Representatives

Senate• Two per State• 100 Senators

Who knows?• Who are U.S. Senators for Florida?

Bill Nelson - D Marco Rubio - R

• Why is September 17th an important day to remember?

Constitution Day 225th Anniversary of the signing of The United

States Constitution Adopted on 1787

Legislatures

• Make laws- Statutes• Federal power to make laws - limited• States- Broader powers• Sometimes federal laws conflict with state laws, courts will follow federal law Supremacy Clause- Article VI of the

Constitution Constitution is Highest Law of the land

• Local Governments also pass laws called ordinances / regulations.

Legislatures Page 21 – Problem 2.1 - Federal, state, and/or local

lawsa. Local ordinance

b. State law

c. State and federal laws

d. Local ordinance

e. Employment discrimination is prohibited by Federal law (Title VII of the Civil rights Act of 1964), some state laws, and some local ordinances.

f. Federal statutes and federal constitutional law.

Legislatures

BILLS• Bills- Intended Laws

Bills are used to enact new laws or amend / repeal old laws

• Introduced in Congress• Ideas for Bills come from many sources• Becomes Law- passed and signed by Executive Branch• Legislative intent

• Language open to interpretation• Judge decides intent

Legislatures – Drafting a Bill

• When drafting laws or rules, ask these questions: Is the law written in clear language? Is the law understandable? When does the law go into effect? Does the law contradict any other laws? Is the law enforceable? If so, by whom? Are the penalties for breaking the law clear and

reasonable?• Judges must follow certain rules in deciding what a statute

means.1. Will not enforce laws that are vague

2. If there is doubt of the meaning of the word in a criminal statute, word interpreted against the government.

Law in Action

• Drafting a Law Simulation – pg. 23 Problem 2.3 Get into groups of 5 – answer a. – e.

Agencies• Enforcement and Regulation• Hidden Lawmakers• Examples

OSHA – health and safety on the job EPA – national standards to protect human health and

safeguard national environment; pollution, energy conservation.

Homeland Security – prevent, protect, respond to terrorism DOT / TSA – protects transportation system FDA Public Hearings

• Proposed regulations by federal gov’t published in the Federal Register

Courts

• Trials- Guilt or innocence• Appeals/Appellate Courts

Higher Court Review• Precedent

All lower courts must follow written opinion

International Lawmaking

• Treaty- Agreement between countries• Extradition: The process in which one country asks another to surrender a suspected or convicted criminal

• European Union- EU 1950• United Nations- UN formed in 1945

World Trade Organization- WTOAnd others

Review

• Know Key Terms• Identity the roles of federal, state, and local

legislature in making laws.• Distinguish among laws made at local, state, and

federal levels of government• Purpose of Supremacy clause of the Constitution.• 2 rules judges follow when determining legislative

intent

Review – cont.• Know the 6 guidelines for drafting laws• How are agencies involved in lawmaking process.• How the decisions of appellate courts can have the

force of the laws• What types of activities typically regulated by

treaties.• Who in the US must approve a treaty before it

becomes law who ratifies it.

Study for TEST – Chapter 1 and 2 next week.

END OF CHAPTER 2