Drafting Federal Legislation and Amendments 
A hands-on how to program

This is the first course in our 2-course Legislative Drafting Workshop. The second course is Advanced Legislative Drafting.

This course helps anyone draft, revise, and review bills and amendments, with lessons especially useful to those who review legislation, prepare reports, or draft legislation and other formal legislative documents. In this course our expert faculty explain the role of the OMB, examine various formats and explore ways to choose the most appropriate one for your issue.

You will learn how to:

• Define your audience and broaden your measure's appeal
• Assess existing law and policy objectives before beginning to draft
• Structure bills and amendments to streamline the drafting process
• Comply with the United States Code (U.S.C.) rules of construction, style, grammar and punctuation guide
• Use drafting styles that work in your favor
• Apply drafting language to your ideas and goals via hands-on exercises
• Review legislation drafted by others

 

The leadership competencies for this course include:

• Influencing/Negotiating
• Strategic Thinking
• Written Communication

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This is a Congressional Fellows and Presidential Management Fellows Training course.

This sponsored course is tailored for your group's specific needs.

The program fee for sponsored courses includes program development, faculty, and course materials, presented in the DC area at your location, for up to 20 attendees. *  We will contact you after we receive your registration to finalize details.

See the FAQs About Sponsored Courses for more information, including Wait Lists.  

Government agencies: please see the GSA Schedule for our GSA contract pricing.

TheCapitol.Net, Inc.
Contract GS02F0192X  

Bring this course to your location. This course and any combination of its topics are available as custom on-site training for your organization. We have tailored our legislative drafting courses for attorneys, paralegals, legislative counsel, inspectors general, and others in agencies, legislatures, and law and lobbying firms. For more information about how this training can help your staff, please contact our client liaison. Not enough people for a sponsored or custom course? See these Capital Learning Audio CoursesTM Capitol Learning Audio Courses Drafting Effective Federal Legislation and Amendments in a Nutshell Statutory Construction: A Primer on How to Read and Understand Statutory Text Strategies and Tactics That Will Help You Impact Congressional Action

Course materials include the Training Edition of "Legislative Drafter's Deskbook," by Tobias A. Dorsey. "[A]n essential tool for anyone who drafts legislation or interprets the law." -- William K. Suter, Clerk of the United States Supreme Court "An essential and indispensable book, both as a reference work and as a thorough introduction to Federal legislative drafting." -- Frank Burk, Legislative Counsel of the United States Senate 1991-1998

Sample Agenda	Drafting Federal Legislation and Amendments 9:00 - 4:30 pm (networking lunch at noon) Preparing to Draft Analyze the problem, facts, and existing law -- determine the policy to be drafted and the law to be addressed Decide which approach and drafting style to use Understand the differences between positive and non-positive law Understand the amendment process: form and technique Use special provisions designed to clarify and simplify Organization and Structural Guidelines Consider who the "audience" of your legislation or amendment will be Review organizational guidelines of a legislative measure Drafting "Rules," Style and Practical Tips Learn punctuation rules, practical tips and suggestions on legislative style, grammar, and specific wording Gain awareness of general drafting problems Review basic rules of construction as outlined in the United States Code Discuss the executive orders on "writing in plain English" and legislative branch requirements OMB Approval and Transmittal Processes for Federal Agencies Understand the Office of Management and Budget legislative clearance process required before a federal agency may submit legislation, testimony, or comments on pending bills to Congress Discuss the legislative proposal package used to transmit a federal agency's approved legislation to the Hill; this package includes a "Speaker letter," draft bill, and section analysis Mini-Practicum Participants identify errors in a fictitious piece of draft legislation The errors are discussed Legislative Drafting Practicum: Putting Your Skills to the Test Participants draft legislation to build their drafting skills A suggested solution is provided The instructor discusses the solution and answers questions Insights, Observations and Suggestions The instructor discusses common mistakes and "traps" when drafting  This course and any of its topics are also available as custom, on-site training anywhere in the United States. Do you need a training course we don't offer or coverage of an additional topic in this course? If you have suggestions for courses or topics you would like to see us offer, please contact us or complete our online suggestion form.
Suggested Prerequisites	Familiarity with Congressional documents, operations and procedures, or our How to Find, Track, and Monitor Congressional Documents  course. If you need help deciding which courses you should take based on your work experience or training, please contact us via email or phone: 202-678-1600.
Time and Dates	9:00 am to 4:30 pm This Sponsored Course Requires One (1) Day
Location	This course can be presented at your location in Washington, DC, or at a location in Washington, DC, that we provide.  *  For a map with a brief list of hotels near the Capitol, click here. When we arrange space, we use these Washington, DC, locations.
Course Materials	Materials include the Training Edition of Legislative Drafter's Deskbook by Tobias A. Dorsey and a course manual.
Certificate of Training and CEUs	A Certificate of Training is available for this course. To get a Certificate of Training, your registration fee must be paid in full, and you must attend the entire course.   Approved for .6 CEUs from George Mason University.
Related Training	Congressional Operations Briefing - Capitol Hill Workshop Congressional Dynamics and the Legislative Process Writing for Government and Business: Critical Thinking and Writing Writing To Persuade
Policies	See https://www.thecapitol.net/PublicPrograms/CoursePolicies_Sponsored.html All statements and discussion at all of our courses, workshops and seminars, public and custom, are off the record and not for attribution, unless specified otherwise. The resulting confidentiality ensures a frank and free exchange of views.
FAQs	FAQs about our sponsored courses including suggested attire.
Program Fee and Registration	$11.875 - for up to 20 attendees *  The program fee includes program development, faculty, and course materials and presentation at your DC-area location for up to 20 attendees (sponsor provides classroom space, AV, and any breaks and lunch). For an additional fee, we can also provide classroom space in the DC area for up to 20 attendees, AV, breaks and lunch. We will contact you after we receive your registration to finalize details.  Registration and payment at least 3 weeks before the course is required so the program can be customized for your specific needs. For more information see FAQs About Our Sponsored Courses.  * = This course can be also presented outside the DC area. Contact us for details.    Fax or Mail: Print out and complete the registration form (in Adobe pdf). The completed form should include your method of payment.    Mail the completed form to us at TheCapitol.Net, Inc., PO Box 25706, Alexandria, VA  22313-5706
Available as custom, on-site training?	Yes.  This program can be tailored for private on-site training.  Please call 202-678-1600 for information. Government agencies: please see the GSA Schedule for our GSA contract pricing. TheCapitol.Net, Inc. Contract GS02F0192X
Need more information?	Phone: 202-678-1600 Email: registrar -at- TheCapitol.Net Complete our online information request.
Non-Partisan	TheCapitol.Net is a non-partisan firm, and the opinions of its faculty, authors, clients and the owners and operators of its vendors are their own and do not represent those of TheCapitol.Net.

URLs: www.TheCapitol.Net/PublicPrograms/legisdrafting_SPONSORED.html
DraftingLegislation.com
TCNDEFLA.com
TCNDF.com
TCNDL.com
 

This Sponsored Course Requires One Day
9:00 am to 4:30 pm

   
Approved for .6 CEUs from George Mason University.

All of our courses and workshops include extensive interaction with our faculty, making our courses and workshops both educational and mini-consulting sessions with substantive experts.

Rave Reviews

"This will help me draft legislation for the [Agency] - and we need it." 
-- Chief, Legislative Liaison, federal agency

"We have been on the fringe of legislative drafting. This will help us move into this arena effectively."
-- Director of Federal Affairs, HIMSS

"Excellent! Really enjoyed the practical exercises. Very helpful, excellent instruction."
-- Attorney, DC

"Will directly aid in my legislative drafting skills."
-- Deputy Director, Legislative Reference Service, DoD

"Contextual and drafting components most helpful -  Overview of process as important as drafting. Written materials TERRIFIC!"
-- Workshop attendee

"Have a much better understanding of presenting alternatives to proposed legislation.  The materials are wonderful."

"Excellent overview.  Practical seminar."
-- Workshop attendee

"Even for individuals involved in legislation on a daily basis, this program has something for everyone."
-- Associate Director, American College of Cardiology

See more testimonials about this course.

Faculty

The faculty members for this course each have more than 15 years' experience drafting and editing proposed legislation.

Select Previous Faculty

Frank Burk

Blair Crownover

Toby Dorsey

Bob Rabben

Our Clients

Congressional Offices

Federal Agencies

Military

NGOs and Nonprofits

Diplomatic Corps

Fortune 500

Law Firms

Lobbying Firms

Labor Unions

Associations

Also See

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