Name: Period: Date: Chapter Two Problems Problem 2-1 Decide whether each of the following laws is federal, state, and/or local. Then give one example, not listed among the following, of a federal, a state, and a local law. a. No parking on the east side of Main Street between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. b. All persons between the ages of 6 and 16 must attend school. c. Whoever enters a bank for purposes of taking by force or violence the property or money in custody of such bank shall be fined not more than $5,000 or imprisoned not more than 20 years or both. d. In order to sell any product on public streets, the seller must first apply for and receive a vendor s permit. e. No employer of more than 15 persons may discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. f. All persons traveling on interstate airline carriers are subject to search before entering the airplane departure area.
a. e. b. f. c. g. d.
PROBLEM 2-3 Over the past year, traffic congestion in your town has worsened. One result has been an increase in accidents involving bicycles. Last year, there were nine accidents with serious injuries involving bicycles and cars or bicycles and pedestrians. A citizens group asks the town council to draft some bicycle safety legislation. After examining the town ordinances, the council realizes that there is no existing law explaining where and how people should ride bicycles. The town s legislative drafting commission- of which you are a member- has been asked to draft a new ordinance. a. What problem does the town council need to address with the proposed ordinance? b. What is the legislative intent of the town council in drafting the ordinance? c. List all the details you think should be included in the proposed ordinance. d. Create a draft of the proposed ordinance to deal with the problem. The draft should contain no more than 6 sentences. e. After the law is drafted, use the guidelines for drafting laws to analyze possible problems with the law. Are there any? If so, what are they? How can they be solved?
Chapter Two Review Activity Directions: Match each definition in the column on the left with the appropriate term in the column on the right. Laws made by legislature Provision that requires that the U.S. Constitution & federal laws are a higher authority than state laws The purpose for which a statute is enacted Court decisions establishing legal principle Divides the lawmaking power between the federal and state government Between state and federal government, has broader power to legislate Law made by local governments Proposed laws Process of writing the actual language of a bill Develop regulations Agreements or contracts between countries One reason courts would not enforce laws a. Agencies b. Bills c. Drafting d. Legislature Intent e. Ordinances f. Precedents g. State Legislatures h. Statues i. Supremacy Clause j. Treaties k. Too vague l. U.S. Constitution Law making is divided between the federal and state government: Federal Statutes deals with. State Statutes deals with. Ordinances are. Drafting a bill requires that the law is: 1. Written in 2. Law is 3. Has an effective 4. Does not any other law 5. Law is 6. Penalties are and In a nut shell write down ten essential steps on how a bill becomes a law. 1. 6. 2. 7. 3. 8. 4. 9. 5. 10.
HOW A BILL BECOMES A LAW 1. How do you identify a bill that has originated in the House of Representatives? 2. What is a committee? Summarize a committee s role in the legislative process in three to four sentences. 3. List the process on how a bill becomes a law in 10 steps. 4. If the President decides to take no action on an enrolled bill, what happens to that bill? Why do you think the President would choose to take such an action? 5. Do you find the steps on How a Bill Becomes a Law to be complete? Why or why not? What other information would you like to know about how laws are made?
Bill Research DIRECTIONS: Visit the THOMAS website: http://thomas.loc.gov/ to research a bill of your chose. After selecting a bill answer the following questions using the information provided by THOMAS. Record the information about your researched bill in the spaces provided below. Bill Topic: Bill No. Originating Chamber: Short Title: Read the Thomas Summary for the bill. What is the main idea behind your bill? Which committees are involved with this bill? What was the last major action taken on this bill? Was this bill signed into law? Why did you select this bill to investigate?