Congressional Bill Template (Page 2 of 3) in pdf

Congressional Bill Template Page 2

authorizing an action also appropriate the funds. This is normally a two-step process, but we

combine them due to time constraints).

The penalties for breaking the law will be another section. Will there be penalties? If there are,

what will they be? Prison time? Fines? Some other penalty?

Finally, last section is the effective date. This is when the bill will take effect if it becomes a law. It

may be a certain amount of time (90 days, 180 days, 3 years, etc.) or a specific date (January 1, 2020).

If it is a certain amount of time, the wording will be “This bill will take effect 90 days after being

signed by the President or its otherwise becoming law.” You will want to include the “or its

otherwise becoming law” because a bill can become a law without the signature of the president.

When you write your bill, you can use the template in the next page. The bill template has line

numbers. This is used for amending the bill and finding specific parts (it is much easier to refer to

“page 2, line 5” than to say “in the middle of that first paragraph on page 2”). Please save your bill as

a .doc or .docx and email it to Glenn Bertsch at . Also, if you have any questions

when writing your bill, please feel free to contact Glenn.

Congressional Bill Template Page 2