How To File A Bill
Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you. Ruth Bader Ginsburg Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until her death in 2020. She was nominated by President Bill Clinton, and at the time was generally viewed as a moderate consensus- builder. She eventually became part of the liberal wing of the Court as the Court shifted to the right over time. Ginsburg was the first Jewish woman and the second woman to serve on the Court.
Garry (D-Dracut). A few provisions of the bill prevent foster parents from discrimination based on many physical characteristics or national origin, as well as guaranteeing them access to information on a child’s background and behavioral history before taking the child in. Is it a difficult process for constituents to file a bill? Not really. “Let’s use the property tax analogy,” DeCoste said. “If you call me up and say, ‘Dave, I want to file a bill that basically lets every individ- ual town establish that when someone hits 65, their property bill gets frozen, I take that idea, I give it to the House Counsel. He writes up the bill, sends it back to me, and asks, ‘Is this what you’re looking for?’ Of course, he looks to make sure the bill hasn’t already been written or doesn’t interfere with the state or federal constitution. Then I would file it. A lot of times it could be filing by petition, but I rarely file by petition. The foster care bill you could say is by petition, but that gained a lot of support.” One of the more prominent examples of a cit- izen-sponsored bill came more than 20 years ago: from children. Then-state Representative Kathleen Teahan (D-Whitman) used to work at the Toll House Inn in Whitman (according
Is it a difficult process for constituents to file a bill?
NOT REALLY!
to The Associated Press), which invented the chocolate chip cookie in 1930. At the request of a third-grade class from Somer- set, then-state Representative Tom Norton (R-Somerset) filed a bill to make the chocolate chip cookie the official cookie of the Com- monwealth of Massachusetts — and Teahan helped push to make it happen. Ultimately, the provision passed — but not without some pushback from the state’s Republican gover- nor at the time, Bill Weld. The holdup: Weld preferred Fig Newtons. Generally, there are many steps it takes for a bill to become a law. Only about 5 percent of bills proposed in the Massachusetts legislature ever become law, according to GBH — the lowest in the country. Between 6,000 and 8,000 bills are filed in the Massachusetts leg- islature each session, according to the state’s website.
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Students Pocket Guide for Civic Engagement
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