Today’s Agenda (04/24/18): Finish/Discuss Applying The Bill of Rights (yesterday’s class assignment) Go Over HW: Constitution Day – Is It Constitutional? Today’s Central Questions Legislation (How Laws Are Created): Overview Group Activity: Determining “Legislative Intent” of an “Unclear Law”…

For Tonight: Finish Medical Marijuana Now Legal, But Rules and Enforcement Unclear article questions (due tomorrow) Section Assessment 1 (summative) on Friday (use your study guides to prepare!) – Multi Choice and Fill-in-the-Blank

Class Activity: Applying the Bill of Rights

HW: Is Constitution Day “Constitutional”? Sen. Robert Byrd (D. WV) Served 1959-2010 Born 1917 – Died 2010

Today’s Central Questions: How exactly are laws “created” by the US Congress or other US legislative group? How do we deal with a law that may not be exactly “clear” in its meaning?

Overview: How Laws Are Created

Responsibilities of the Legislative Branch Legislative = lawmaking body 1. national statutes (“laws”) are created by the US Congress (House of Reps & Senate) 2. Often include laws dealing with national defense, public health, and taxes

Legislative Branch (cont’d) State Legislatures 1. Can be bicameral (two-houses) or unicameral (one-house) 2. Laws they pass include state education laws, criminal laws, traffic laws, etc.

Legislative Branch (cont’d) 3. Any law passed by a state legislature may not contradict the Constitution of the US; this is known as the “supremacy clause” (found in Article 6 of the Constitution)

Creating a Law All laws start out as bills 1. bill can create a new law 2. bill can cancel an old law Ideas for bills can come from the following: 1. gov’t representatives 2. the President 3. individual citizens or groups of citizens On April 30, 2015 Sen. Lamar Alexander (R. TN) introduced the Every Student Succeeds Act (which amended the controversial No Child Left Behind Act of 2001) on the floor of the Senate. It was signed by Pres. Obama on December 10th.

Creating a Law A law must be written in language that all can understand 1. should include the overall purpose behind the law 2. should include regulations or rules to follow 3. should include appropriate consequences if a law is not followed correctly

Creating a Law (cont’d) Laws are often debated and then voted on by members of a legislative branch 1. if majority vote no, bill is canceled 2. if majority of both houses vote yes, the bill passes and goes on to the executive branch Results of a House vote on whether or not to raise the “debt ceiling”

Creating a Law (cont’d) Executive Branch must decide to sign the bill into law or veto a bill and cancel it out Photograph of President Donald Trump signing the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 into law on December 22, 2017.

Creating a Law (cont’d) The Job of the Supreme Court in Legislation 1. sometimes the language of the law is not clear enough for everyone to understand 2. SC will use its power to clarify or interpret what it believes the law to mean; this is known as figuring out the “legislative intent” of a law An artist’s rendition of an argument being made before the 9 Justices of the US Supreme Court

Group Activity: Determining Legislative Intent City Council Meeting Simulation

Closure: In your opinion, do citizens need to take a more active role in the creation of laws?