LEGISLATION FORMATS & SAMPLES
STANDARD BILL FORMAT
Title of Bill
Be it enacted by this Student Congress here assembled:
1 Section I: That concise statement of the new policy to be adopted.
2 Section II: Create subsequent sections (as many as needed) to define any important
3 terms, lay out plans for implementation, and offer other guidelines and
4 requirements.
5 Section III: Designate a government agency or agencies responsible for executing the
6 terms of the bill, indicate how the financial costs of the legislation will be funded,
7 and what penalties (if any) will be imposed for violations.
8 Section IV: Provide a null and void clause.
9 Section V: State the implementation date for the legislation.
Respectfully Submitted,
Author’s Name
Author’s School
Writing Legislation
Bills are DOUBLE SPACED, 1 PAGE MAX TYPED
Considerations: Whether your write a Bill or Resolution, consider timeliness (is this important
now?), debate-ability (are there two distinct sides?), wealth of information (can I do research?),
gravity (is this legislation serious?), and ability to regulate (can we do this?)
Bills – Make Policy
Title THE MARTIAN IMMIGRATION FREEDOM ACT OF 2004
No proper names here, basic
description
Be it enacted Be it enacted by the Congress here assembled:
Section 1 Section 1. That Martians shall now be given the immigration
Summarizes Bill rights of citizens of this planet to and from the United States
Section 2 Section 2. That, also, Those of Martian decent shall now be
Details Bill's Primary Action allowed to seek citizenship through the Immigration and
(also may provide key definitions as
Naturalization Service. There shall be no discrimination in
needed.)
the process between those of this planet and Martians. Upon
acceptance, Martians shall be issued social security numbers,
be subject to the draft and jury duty and incur all other
benefits and duties of United States citizenship.
Section 3 Section 3. That, also, funding for this bill shall be provided by a
Provides funding and 1% tariff increase on products exported to the planet Mars.
Enforcement
The Immigration and Naturalization Service within the
Department of Homeland Security shall be responsible for
enforcement of this legislation.
Section 4 Section 4. That, also, all laws in conflict with this legislation are
“Housekeeping” hereby declared null and void.
Section 5 Section 5. That, also, this bill shall take effect upon passage and
Enactment / Retirement be subject to re approval in the year 2009.
Signature Respectfully submitted
(single space, flush left) Senator [name]
School
Note, each Section begins with That, then That, also…
A Section may also be divided into a lead sentence with lettered sub-points: a), b), c), etc.
STANDARD RESOLUTION FORMAT
Title of Resolution
1. Whereas, clearly state the problem your legislation is addressing, and
2. Whereas, suggest the causes of the problem, and
3. Whereas, describe the ways in which the problem manifests itself, and
4. Whereas, explain why the problem is so difficult to solve,
5. THEREFORE be it resolved by this Student Congress here assembled that
6. state your recommendation for dealing with the problem.
Respectfully Submitted,
Author’s Name
Author’s School
***NOTE: Although the resolution format shown here uses a four “whereas clause”
format, you may choose to have as many whereas clauses as you want (the minimum
number of clauses needed is two). The content of each clause is your choice;
you are not required to follow the above structure.***
Writing Legislation
Resolutions are DOUBLE SPACED, 1 PAGE MAX TYPED
Considerations: Whether your write a Bill or Resolution, consider timeliness (is this important
now?), debate-ability (are there two distinct sides?), wealth of information (can I do research?),
gravity (is this legislation serious?), and ability to regulate (can we do this?)
Title A RESOLUTION TO PROMOTE THE IMMIGRATION OF
Same rules apply MARTIANS
Body – Whereas Clauses Whereas, those of Martian decent are currently not allowed
Point out status quo and justify a citizenship in the United States; and,
change
Whereas, this leads to increased discrimination and second-class
citizens for Martian residents of the US; and,
Whereas, providing citizenship would promote immigration,
which would increase tax revenue and benefit the causes of
freedom;
Resolved Clause Therefore, be it resolved by the Congress here assembled that
the Immigration and Naturalization Service should recognize
all citizenship requests by Martians using their proper merit
and the principals of fairness.
Signature Respectfully submitted
Senator name
School
Notes
You can have as many Whereas clauses as you would like.
The Resolved Clause – Advocates the idea, suggests things for our government or the governments of
other countries, creates priorities, lays out a course of action.