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

“The Second Edition of the Legislative Drafter’s Desk Reference deserves center stage on the reference shelf of every legislator, professional drafter, lobbyist, and legislative student.  Strokoff, a thirty year veteran of the House Office of Legislative Counsel with extensive drafting experience tested under fire, has expanded and modernized Filson’s original work, insuring that it will remain as the standard in legislative drafting for years to come.  Filled with scores of real world examples and helpful tricks of the trade, the Second Edition is an up-to-date, practical and highly readable guide that should be consulted over and over again when drafting federal or state legislation.”

Sandra L. Strokoff is the Legislative Counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives.

Lawrence E. Filson was the Deputy Legislative Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives prior to his retirement in 1989.

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