Students will identify proposed legislation that is under consideration during the last Florida or US Congressional Legislative Session.

Students will identify proposed legislation that is under consideration during the last Florida or US Congressional Legislative Session. This legislation should pertain to social issues or policy concerns and reflect one of the “areas as legislative and advocacy issues” outlined in the NASW-FL Legislative Agenda. (www.naswfl.org/legislative.htm Links to an external site.). However, other legislation will be considered. Please consult with the instructor. Do try to use this paper to learn about a FL specific bill.

Note: Do not discount considering proposed legislation that diminishes the rights of oppressed groups, furthers inequality, is contrary to social work values, or in conflict with the NASW-FL Agenda.

Students will conduct an in-depth examination to determine the range and level of political support and opposition to the bill’s passage. Students should explore the legislative, social, ideological, and political positions of the bill’s sponsors(s), legislative support and opposition. They should also identify organizations, special interest groups, and coalitions who have a compelling interest in the bill, determine the rationale for their support or opposition, and identify strategies that are being employed to influence passage of the bill.

In order to develop a comprehensive understanding of the complexities involved in the legislative process, students should consult legislators’ websites, voting records, newspaper articles, and media reports. Many organizations and special interest group have websites that describe their ideological positions, outline these positions on various policy issues and political agendas, and provide key strategies for advocacy.

From the prospective of social policy advocate, students will provide a written report that describes the findings from their research:

Description of the proposed legislation and the intent of the legislation

Identification of Bill’s sponsor(s) and in-depth review of findings regarding the legislator(s) political position, legislative support, and opposition.

Identification of coalitions, special interest groups, and organizations and in-depth review of findings regarding their positions.

Analysis of the influential power of both support and opposition positions and the potential of either passage or defeat of the bill.

I would like to talk about the Heartbeat Protection Act.