In this section of your paper, you will introduce the bill. Start off by stating the name and number of the bill. Is this a

Running head: SHORTENED VERSION OF YOUR TITLE (No more than 50 characters) 1

Original Title of Paper (Include Bill #)

Your Name

San Francisco State University

SHORTENED TITLE 2

Same Title as First Page

In this section of your paper, you will introduce the bill. Start off by stating the name and

number of the bill. Is this a California bill? If so, was it introduced in the California Senate or

the Assembly? Who sponsored the bill (i.e., who introduced the bill to the Senate or

Assembly?); you do not need to list all of the co-sponsors. Or is this a federal bill? If so, was it

introduced in the Senate or the House of Representatives? Who sponsored the bill (i.e., who

introduced the bill to the Senate or Assembly?); you do not need to list all of the co-sponsors.

What is/are the goal(s) of the bill? In other words, what does the bill hope to accomplish?

Remember that a goal is a desired result (e.g., reduce crime rates; increase graduation rates).

Your answer to this question should be something that could be measurable in the future. Next,

briefly describe how the bill plans to accomplish its goal(s). What proposed policy changes does

the bill describe?

End this section by describing the bill’s status in the legislative process (I suggest

reviewing the lecture notes for the “Policy Making Process: How a Bill Becomes a Law”). For

California Bills, look at the “History” tab on the website. For federal bills, look at the “Action”

tab on the website. Did the bill become a law? If so, when was the final step for approval taken?

If not, what was the last action taken? Is there any chance for the bill to become a law in the

future? Look up the name of the bill (not the number) in the search bar of the website to see

whether it has been re-introduced in more recent years. If so, what is the most recent status?

Throughout this section, do not use direct quotes from the bill. I am assessing YOUR

understanding of the bill, so you should use your own words throughout. However, you should

cite the bill using the following format: Senate Bill XXX (2015) or (S. XXX, 2015); House of

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Representatives Bill XXX (2015) or (H.R. XXX, 2015); California Senate Bill XXX (2015) or

(CA S. XXX, 2015); California Assembly Bill XXX (2015) or (CA AB XXX, 2015). Example:

“Senate Bill 1033 (2015) would change the way welfare is calculated” or "Opponents of the bill

(S. 1033, 2015) include homeowners' associations, and labor unions.

Bill Analysis

*Make sure to cite Kraft and Furlong (2018) in this section!

Effectiveness

In this section, you will evaluate whether you think the bill appears to be effective.

Remember effectiveness asks whether the policy is likely to work (i.e., if it became a law, would

it meet its goals?). Restate the goal(s) of the bill. List reasons the goal is likely to be

accomplished through this bill. Why do you think the bill would be successful? List reasons the

goal is unlikely to be accomplished through this bill. What are some barriers to the bill being

successful?

Efficiency

In this section, you will evaluate whether you think the bill appears to be efficient.

Remember efficiency asks whether the policy is worth the effort (i.e., if it became a law, would

the benefits that result from it be worth the cost?). What are the benefits of this bill? Who

receives these benefits? Make sure to think of as many parties as possible who will be positively

affected.

What are the costs of this bill? Who pays these costs? Make sure to think of as many

parties as possible who will have to pay a cost. The word “cost” is flexible here: it can refer to

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monetary costs or costs in time, effort, and other disadvantages. I do not expect you to know

exactly how much money a policy change would cost.

Equity

In this section, you will evaluate whether you think the bill appears to be equitable.

Remember equity asks whether the policy is fair and just (i.e., if it became a law, would it benefit

everybody equally? Would it benefit those who need more help?). Remember there are two

views of how to define equity or fairness: Process equity and end-result equity. Process equity

asks whether everyone will have equal access to the benefits of this policy. End-result equity

asks whether this policy helps to ensure that resources will be more fairly distributed in the end.

Conclusion

In this section, you will come to a final conclusion regarding your analysis of your

chosen bill along the three evaluative criteria: effectiveness, efficiency, and equity. Go through

each criterion and state your final conclusion. Do you think your bill is effective? Why or why

not? Do you think your bill is efficient? Why or why not? Do you think your bill is equitable?

Why or why not?

(References page go at the top of the following page, even if you have empty space here)

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References

In this section, you will need to list two sources: Kraft and Furlong (2018), which is a book, and

your chosen bill. Below are examples of how to format a reference for a book, and a federal bill.

Belcher, W., & Sanchez, R. (2019). Writing your journal article in twelve weeks: A guide to

academic publishing success (2nd edition). University of Chicago Press. [Note – all the

information you need is found on the first page of any of the Kraft and Furlong PDFs.]

H.R. 3507–113th Congress: 21st Century Care for Military and Veterans Act. (2013). In

www.GovTrack.us. Retrieved September 18, 2019, from

https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/ [Note – this is an example so you will need

to replace the bill number, name, date and website with information from your bill.]

Bill Analysis Assignment Guide CAD 625 Children, Youth, and Public Policy

You will select a legislative bill from a list provided in class. Then, you will write a paper describing and analyzing the bill based on Kraft and Furlong (2018)’s evaluative criteria. Please see “Bill Analysis Guided Example” on iLearn for more information about what to include and how to format each section. PAPER FORMATTING: Please use APA formatting guidelines throughout the report: • 12-point, times new roman font, 1” margins • Include an APA-formatted title page • Use APA style in-text citations • Divide paper into five sections (detailed below); each section should have APA-style headings • Suggested length: 3 double-spaced pages (not including title or reference pages) • APA help can be found in the “APA Resources” folder at the top of the course iLearn page SECTIONS OF THE PAPER: 1) Title page (use the bill # in the title)

2) Bill description

Information about the bill – include the following: • Name of the bill • Number of the bill • Who is sponsoring the bill (these are the senator(s)/representatives(s)/assembly members

who introduced the bill) [4 points] • Describe the bill and the goal(s) of the bill [4 points] • Describe the bill’s status in the legislative process [4 points]

3) Policy Analysis

Discuss Kraft and Furlong’s evaluative criteria (for descriptions of these evaluative criteria, please see Kraft and Furlong Chapter 6, pp. 183-193) • Effectiveness: Is the proposed policy likely to accomplish its goals? [4 points] • Efficiency: Are the expected benefits of the policy worth the costs? [4 points] • Equity: Are the benefits of the policy fairly distributed? [4 points]

4) Conclusion

Provide a summary of your evaluation on effectiveness, efficiency and equity with at least one justification for each criterion [6 points]

5) References page

Must include references for: • Bill • Kraft & Furlong • Any other sources you used in the writing of your paper

Writing = 5 points, APA = 5 points

GRADING RUBRIC

CATEGORY Excellent Good Satisfactory Below expectation Bill

Description: 12 points

The paper includes the name and number of

the bill, the sponsor(s) of the bill, its status in the legislative process, and a brief description of the bill including its

goal(s) (11-12)

The paper includes the name and number of the bill, the

sponsor(s) of the bill, its status in the legislative process, and a

brief description of the bill including its goal(s), but some

details are unclear or information is lacking.

(9-10)

The paper is missing one of the following: name and number of the bill, the

sponsor(s) of the bill, its status in the legislative process,

and a brief description of the bill including its goal(s)

(7-8)

The paper is missing two or more of the following: name and number of the

bill, the sponsor(s) of the bill, its status in the

legislative process, and a brief description of the bill

including its goal(s) (0-6)

Legislation Analysis: 12 points

There is a thoughtful analysis of the bill using

the three evaluative criteria described by Kraft and

Furlong (11-12)

There an analysis of the bill using the Kraft and Furlong

three criteria, but the assessment is not comprehensive or some

aspect is unclear (9-10)

The analysis of the bill involves only some of the three

Kraft and Furlong criteria (7-8)

The analysis does not draw on the Kraft or

Furlong criteria (0-6)

Conclusion: 6 points

There is a complete conclusion that references

the bill and covers all three evaluative criteria

with at least one justification for each

criterion (6)

There is a complete conclusion that references the

bill and covers all three evaluative criteria with at

least one justification for two of the criteria

(4-5)

Conclusion references the bill and covers 1-2 criteria with justification or does

not include justification for any criteria

(2-3)

Conclusion lacks references to the bill and is missing criteria and

justification (0-1)

Mechanics & Style:

5 points

Information is organized with well-constructed

paragraphs and thoughtful transitions that show how

ideas are connected. Sentences are well-

constructed. Rare or no grammatical, spelling or

punctuation errors. (5)

Information is organized with well-constructed paragraphs and some transitions Most

sentences are well- constructed. Almost no grammatical, spelling or

punctuation errors. (4)

Information is organized, but paragraphs are not

well-constructed and clear transitions are not provided.

Many sentences are not well-constructed. A few grammatical spelling, or

punctuation errors. (2-3)

The information appears to be disorganized. Most sentences are not well- constructed or varied. Many grammatical,

spelling, or punctuation errors. (0-1)

APA Format:

5 points

APA format is correctly used for all quotes,

citations and references (5)

Roughly a quarter or less of quotes, citations and references

use APA format incorrectly. (4)

Roughly half of quotes, citations and references use

APA format incorrectly. (2-3)

Sources are included and cited, but APA format is

not used. (0-1)