DB2 AGPA-Legislating: The Structures and Functions of Federal and State Legislatures

Within the Discussion Board area, write 200–250 words that respond to the following questions with your thoughts, ideas, and comments. This will be the foundation for future discussions by your classmates. Be substantive and clear, and use examples to reinforce your ideas.

For this Discussion Board, please complete the following:

The framers of the Constitution created Congress as the cornerstone of the new nation. Congress is made up of elected officials, called legislators, who represent the people who voted them into office. Legislators’ primary role is to create the laws that will govern the country. To create a law, a bill must be introduced to a legislative body, such as Congress at the national level, the state legislature at the state level, or perhaps a city council at the local level.

Imagine that you are a representative or that you are going to write to your representative with an idea for a bill.

What issue would your bill address?
At what level of government (federal, state, or local) would you introduce this bill? Why would you introduce it at that level?

Reading and Learning Materials

Use the following resources to help you complete this assignment:

The Differences Between Federal, State, and Local Laws- https://www.lawhelp.org/resource/the-differences-between-federal-state-and-loc#iEA876BFD-5BBB-4FC6-A603-952438FE8E69

This is a quick guide to the differences between federal, state, and local legislature and laws.

The Legislative Process Overview- https://www.congress.gov/legislative-process

This series of videos created by the U.S. government details the legislative process.
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Content Overview:

Perhaps one of the greatest achievements, which arose from the founding of the United States, was the creation of an effective constitutional structure of political institutions. Two important and unique aspects were federalism and the separation of powers – the founders intended to divide governmental power.

Federalism limited government by creating two levels – the national government and state (and local) governments – thereby restraining the influence of both! Separation of powers imposes internal limits by dividing government against itself, giving different branches separate functions and forcing them to share power.

Power is divided up vertically between levels AND horizontally among the branches!

Unit 2 Discussion Board Assignment:

In addition to instructions for the week, below are some items to be aware of to make the best grade possible.

Be sure to answer all parts of both questions. You may use subtopics to organize your post. For example:

1) Issue or Bill Proposal

2) Level of Government

Ideally, part 1 of your post will introduce an issue that you are interested in and explain a law that you would like to see enacted surrounding it. Perhaps there is something you would like to change or be added to a current law. In part 2, the post will go on to state which level of government is better suited to handle your bill proposal and explain why it should be introduced at that level of government. Be sure to rely on the additional materials provided in the instruction details.