LEGISLATIVE PROCESS

Catalog description

The course examines the legal principles governing the legislative process, the drafting of legislation, the regulation of participants in the legislative process, including lobbyists, and ethical issues facing an attorney who is involved in the legislative process. The course work includes exploring the interrelationship between statutory and decisional law and the role of administrative law as these topics relate to the enactment of legislation. The course provides a practical analysis of the legislative process from the perspective of the attorney who will be involved in drafting legislation, advocating its passage, and arguing about statutory construction in the courts. Both the California Legislature and United States Congress are subjects of discussion. The course is recommended for students intending to enroll in the Legislation Clinic in Sacramento in a subsequent spring semester.