WRITING

LEGISLATION

Creating the docket

WHY WRITE LEGISLATION?

�Encouraged by UIL�Authorship guaranteed�Familiarity with the docket�Teaches civic envolvement

CH

OO

SE A

TO

PIC

v It ought to be a lawv It IS a law that ought to be

repealedv It isn’t a law already (unless you

want to repeal it)v It CAN be a lawvSome things belong under state

law vUSFG can withhold relevant

funding (speed limits)vwww.govtrack.us

WILL THE TOPIC BE DEBATABLE?

�Balanced Aff / Neg�Appropriate for school setting�Anyone can speak

comfortably�New and interesting

WRITE LEGISLATION

• Bill, resolution, amendment• U.S. Congress• UIL - Each district has its own docket

–10 for prelims and 10 for finals• Invitationals MAY use the District

Docket• UIL State bound students send one

bill and one resolution to State Clerk• TFA has a new docket for

Spring/State

RESOLUTIONS

• Not specific policy• Whereas clauses give

reasons (warrants)• Resolved clause(s) outlines

general direction of proposed law

RESOLUTION TEMPLATE

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RESOLUTION EXAMPLE

WecertifythatthelegislationsubmittedbythisschoolforthisCongressistheoriginalworkofthestudentsofourschoolandhaspermissiontobepresented.

AResolutiontoEncouragetheBanoftheDestructiveDrugFentanyl

WHEREAS, TheUnitedStatesdrugepidemichasincreasedtocatastrophic1

proportionswithfentanylbeinglinkedtothousandsofoverdosesin2

recentmonths;and3

WHEREAS, Itisestimatedthatover140peopledieofdrugoverdoseseveryday;and4

WHEREAS, TheUnitedStatesdrugproblemiscalculatedtocosttensofbillionsof5

dollarsayearinthenearfuture;and6

WHEREAS, In2016drugoverdoseskilledmoreAmericansinoneyearthanthe7

VietnamWar;now,therefore,beit8

RESOLVED, ThattheUILCongresshereassembledmakethefollowing9

recommendationtobanfentanylinordertoendtheUnitedStatesdrug10

epidemic.11

IntroducedforUILCongressionalDebatebyESC11.

BILLS

ØClauses lay out specific policy

ØDon’t give warrants in the legislation

ØBe specific

BILL TEMPLATE

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BILL EXAMPLE

WecertifythatthelegislationsubmittedbythisschoolforthisCongressistheoriginalworkofthestudentsofourschoolandhaspermissiontobepresented.

ABilltoAutomaticallyRegisterVoterstoIncreaseVoterTurnout

BEITENACTEDBYTHISUILCONGRESSHEREASSEMBLEDTHAT:1

SECTION1. AllUnitedStatesCitizenswillbeautomaticallyregisteredtovoteupon2

reachingtheageof18.3

SECTION2. AUnitedStatesCitizenisdefinedas"apersonbornornaturalizedinthe4

UnitedStates."5

SECTION3. TheDepartmentofJusticewilloverseeimplementationandenforcement6

ofthisbill.7

SECTION4. Thisbillshallgointoeffectonemonthafterpassage.8

SECTION5. Alllawsinconflictwiththislegislationareherebydeclarednullandvoid.9

IntroducedforUILCongressionalDebatebyESC 6.

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TEMPLATE

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CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT EXAMPLE

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WHAT’S WRONG?

AResolutiontoRaisetheFederalMinimumWagetoTenDollarsPerHour

WHEREAS, Thefederalminimumwagewasestablishedin1968tocombatpovertyandhas

beenadjustedseveraltimesforinflation;and

WHEREAS, Ifthefederalminimumwagehadkeptupwithinflationintheensuingforty-six

yearsitwouldcurrentlystandat$10.74perhour;and

WHEREAS, Thecurrentfederalminimumwageof$7.25perhourisnotadequatetosupport

oneself;and

WHEREAS, Raisingtheminimumwagewouldaffectthepayof28millionAmericans,

stimulatetheeconomy,increaseproductivityandkeepfamiliesofffederal

welfare;now,therefore,beit

RESOLVED, ThattheCongresshereassembledmakethefollowingrecommendationfor

solution.

IntroducedforCongressionalDebatebyHarkerHeightsHighSchool

WHAT’S WRONG?

A Resolution to Preserve the Constitutional Rights of Public School Students

WHEREAS, The Supreme Court has ruled in the case of Tinker vs Des Moines that the

Constitutional rights of students do not “end at the schoolhouse gate”; and

WHEREAS, School uniforms make it impossible for students to express their political,

religious, and other views in a non-verbal manner; and

WHEREAS, The censorship of non-verbal speech increases the likelihood that students

will turn to more confrontational, verbal means of self-expression; and

WHEREAS, The requirement to provide school uniforms discriminates against families

who have low incomes or high rates of transience; now, therefore be it

RESOLVED, That the Student Congress here assembled that the U.S. federal

government withhold all federal education funds from any state that

continues to allow public schools to require students to wear uniforms.

Introduced by Harker Heights High School

WHAT’S WRONG?

Wecertifytha

tthelegisla

tionsubmittedb

ythisschoo

lforthisCon

gressisthe

originalwor

kofthestud

entsofours

chooland

haspermission

tobeprese

nted.

ABilltosto

partificialin

telligencefr

omtakingjobs

fromthe

Americanwork

force.

BEITENAC

TEDBYTHIS

UILCONGR

ESSHEREA

SSEMBLED

THAT:

1

SECTION1.

Thisbillwou

ldprohibitb

usinessesfro

mreplacingw

orkerswith

artificial

2 intelligence

,anythingt

hatcouldte

achitselfne

wtasks,som

ethingthat

3 wouldtake

ajobthath

astradition

allybeenhe

ldbyhumans,a

ndisnot

4 human.

5

SECTION2.

Artificialint

elligence-Th

edevelopmentof

computersyste

msableto

6 performtasks

thatnormallyre

quirehumanint

elligence,su

chasvisual

7 perception,

speechreco

gnition,dec

ision-making,

andtransla

tion

8 betweenlan

guages.

9 Americanwork

force-AllA

mericanswho

haveajob,

areseeking

ajob,or

10 planongett

ingajob.

11

SECTION3.

TheUnited

StatesDepa

rtmentofLabor

.

12 A. TheUnit

esStatesDe

partmentof

Laborwoul

doverseet

heprotectio

n

13ofHu

manworkers

fromartificialint

elligence.

14

SECTION4.

Immediatelyupo

npassageof

thebill.

15

SECTION5.

Alllawsinco

nflictwitht

hislegislatio

narehereb

ydeclaredn

ullandvoid

.

16

Introducedf

orUILCong

ressionalDe

batebyCors

icanaHigh

School.

WHAT’S WRONG?

WecertifythatthelegislationsubmittedbythisschoolforthisCongressistheoriginalworkofthestudentsofourschoolandhaspermissiontobepresented.

ABilltoIncreaseOrganDonationstoSupplytheLargeDemandforOrgans

Section1. ThedemandfororgansintheUnitedStatesisextremelydisproportionate1

tothesupply.2

Section2. Thishasleftmanycitizensdyingwhileonthetransplantwaitlist.3

Section3. Withanewpersonbeingaddedtothetransplantwaitinglistevery104

minutes,notsolvingtheissueinregardstothedemandwillfurtherharm5

citizensinneedoforgans.6

Section4. Solutionsaddressingthisneedtoincreasethedonorpoolbycreatingan7

‘optout’listhasbeensuccessfulinothercountries,suchasFrance.8

Section5. Alllawsinconflictwiththislegislationareherebydeclarednullandvoid.9

1

WHAT’S WRONG?

A Resolution to End the Pink Tax

WHEREAS, Women pay a tax every month for famine hygiene products.

WHEREAS, Men are not “penalized” as women are for having to pay an extra

tax for something they did not wish upon themselves.

WHEREAS, Society is turing into a socially equal society yet the Pink tax is

over looked and not mentioned.

WHEREAS, Men can get free sex prevention products in doctors offices

whereas women have to pay a minimum of $129.99 per pack.

RESOLVED, The Pink tax should be non existent and birth control should be

lowered substantially.

FURTHER RESOLVED, That true equality would be present in our current

society.

Introduced for UIL Congressional Debate by Midway High School.

We certify that the legislation submitted by this school for this Congress is the original work of the students of

our school and has permission to be presented.

WHAT’S WRONG?

WecertifythatthelegislationsubmittedbythisschoolforthisCongressistheoriginalworkofthestudentsofourschoolandhaspermissiontobepresented.

ABilltoLegalizeProstitutiontoEnsureSafety

BEITENACTEDBYTHISUILCONGRESSHEREASSEMBLEDTHAT:1

SECTION1. Createauniontoensuresafetyforeveryoneandjusticeforvictims.2

SECTION2. Prostitution:aperson,inparticularawomen,whoengagesinsexual3

activityforpayment.Union:theactionorfactofjoiningorbeingjoined.4

SECTION3. PublicDiplomacyandPublicAffairs5

A. PublicAffairsdealwithtrustingthegovernmentsothesewomen6

wouldn’tbescaredtogotothepolice.7

SECTION4. Bytheendof2017,beginningof2018.8

SECTION5. Alllawsinconflictwiththislegislationareherebydeclarednullandvoid.9

WHAT’S WRONG?

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TIME TO START WRITING

�Legislation due to

your region clerk by

September 10!