Legislative Drafter S Deskbook

The Legislative Drafter's Deskbook offers practical advice and insight for those engaged in legislative drafting, those more interested in policy than drafting itself, or those interested in reading and interpreting the law. The Legislative Drafter's Deskbook helps anyone understand why laws are drafted the way they are. This book explains why laws are drafted the way they are. Legislative drafting is - to the extent it is writing at all - the form of writing used for legislative measures, a category that covers original bills and resolutions as well as amendments. Ultimately, legislative drafting is the form of writing used for enacted law. The focus of this book is on legislative drafting for the Congress of the United States, but many, if not most, of the principles described here apply just as well to drafting for other legislatures. As forms of writing go, drafting is not freewheeling like poetry, nor showy like rhetoric, nor personal like a novel. Drafting is disciplined, rigorous, and analytical. Done well, drafting can also be creative, elegant, and clever. (Unfortunately, drafting is not always done well.) The purpose of this book is to provide practical advice on drafting to anyone who does, or may, engage in drafting, and indirectly to provide insight into the drafting process to other interested people. For example, this book is for people who are more interested in policy than in drafting, but want to understand why drafters operate the way they do. It is also for people who are more interested in reading and interpreting the law than in drafting, but want to understand why laws are drafted the way they are. It is hoped that this book will be accessible to beginners while remaining valuable to veterans. The traditional method of training drafters is to train them on the job; the consensus is that drafting is best learned holistically, on a case-by-case basis. For that reason this book is best used as a resource, not a course. It is a supplement to, not a substitute for, the learning that comes from experience. The author designed this book to answer the variety of questions about drafting that arise daily in the work of individuals with a professional interest in how bills, resolutions, and laws are drafted. The approach used here is pragmatic: You will find no linguistic theories or esoteric conundrums discussed here. What you will find is solid advice for everyday drafting projects. "A masterful work. It is comprehensive and exceptionally well written. It is an 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 "The succinct and thorough assessment of good legislative drafting techniques provides a set of 'best practices' for drafters at all levels of government." -- Elizabeth Garrett, Sydney M. Irmas Professor of Public Interest Law, University of Southern California "State legislative drafters will also greatly appreciate this work." -- Bruce Feustel, Senior Fellow, NCSL Summary of Contents 1. Being a Drafter 2. Understanding How Laws Are Made 3. Considering the Courts: Statutory Interpretation 4. Thinking Through the Policy 5. Choosing the Right Measure 6. Writing Effectively 7. Organizing and Arranging 8. Using the Right Style 9. Affecting and Amending Other Laws 10. Working in, and Working with, the Executive Branch Appendices Back of the Book Table of Cases Table of Constitutional Provisions Table of Statutes at Large Table of Public Laws Table of U.S. Code Sections Index Complete Table of Contents online at www.LegislativeDraftersDeskbook.com

Primarily an all-purpose manual for individuals who may be called on to draft legislation, but also a picture of what legislative drafting involves and how it fits into the legislative process as a whole. Includes a comprehensive list of drafting rules, principles, and forms applicable to all types of bills at all levels of government and a section on matters of form, style, and procedure that are specifically involved in bill drafting at the federal level. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

The Legislative Drafter's Desk Reference is a practical guide to the drafting of federal and state laws for law and public policy students, and legal, lobbying, and legislative professionals. It contains a treasure trove of information that sets forth solid drafting principles in language that is easy to understand. It offers an introduction to the concept and the process of bill drafting along with step-by-step details of all the issues associated with crafting legislative bills or agency regulations. The new and updated second edition captures how the work of legislative drafting has changed dramatically since the first edition because of the impact of word processing and the Internet in the drafting process. It features: Chapter length treatments of the issues associated with crafting bill preliminaries, provisions, amendatory provisions, and style and usage Discussion of emerging issues such as pay/go, budget, appropriations procedures, practical political realities, court treatment of statutory construction principles, and other factors that have emerged to make the process of drafting and amending legislation more complex Helpful compare/contrast exercises derived from poorly drafted bills Coverage of new issues such as the unintended consequences of legislation and how to make technical corrections to statutes New material on drafting regulations for federal and state executive branch personnel

This book is a practical guide to the drafting of federal and state laws for law and public policy students, and legal, lobbying, and legislative professionals. It offers an introduction to the concept and the process of bill drafting along with step-by-step details of all the issues associated with crafting legislative bills or agency regulations.

This comprehensive guide to Congress is ideal for anyone who wants to know how Congress really works, including federal executives, attorneys, lobbyists, media and public affairs staff, government affairs, policy and budget analysts, congressional office staff and students. - Clear explanation of the legislative process, budget process, and House and Senate business - Flowcharts for legislative and budget processes - Explanation of the electoral college and votes by states - Glossary of legislative terms - Relationship between budget resolutions and appropriation and authorization bills - Amendment tree and amendment procedures - How members are assigned to committees - Agenda for early organization meetings (after election, before adjournment) - Sample legislative documents with explanatory annotations - Bibliographic references throughout.

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Given the increasing problem of double taxation concerning value added tax (VAT)/goods and services tax (GST) and the resulting constraints to international trade, it is time for the international community to take action. This book analyses the phenomenon of VAT/GST double taxation and possible remedies. VAT/GST treaties would be one of them. But how should one design a VAT/GST treaty? To what extent do existing income tax treaties already apply to VAT/GST? Can income tax treaties simply be extended to VAT/GST or is there a need for a separate, independent VAT/GST treaty? Can the concepts, functioning, and structure of income tax treaties be used for VAT/GST purposes? What are possible alternatives? What should the scope of a VAT/GST treaty be? How can taxing rights be allocated between the parties to a treaty?