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