Legislation:

1. noun laws, considered collectively.

Turq.io is a funding network for citizen lawmakers. Citizen lawmakers are everyday people that write signature-ready legislation for state and local legislatures.

Imagine the power behind presenting a congressional representative with a written bill to change a law instead of a wordy email or phone call as a ‘concerned citizen’. It shows the lawmaker that serious thought has gone into an issue and makes it easy to be presented to a chamber floor for a vote. It allows the ‘concerned citizen’ to become a ‘participating citizen’ and builds a healthier democracy.

Signature-ready legislation has the following benefits:

• Helps lawmakers utilize their time more effectively for casework and lawmaking without having to draft legislative proposals.
• Shows legislators a cohesive plan to make, change, or strike down a law based on the needs of the people.
• Creates an easy path to have a law change considered and voted on by legislative bodies.
• Creates a starting point for debate or feedback from lawmakers and other stakeholders.
• Gets citizens involved and participating in democracy.

You do not have to be a legislator or city council member to be able to draft legislation. You do not need to be a lawyer or have any special experience to write a bill. All that is required is the desire to see change happen and the willingness to do some research.

This guide will take you through a general flow for writing legislation in the State of Massachusetts, but these steps can be followed in any jurisdiction.

Remember this about your journey in learning to write legislation:

• Be technical, but also be creative and have fun
• Seek feedback, and accept it gracefully
• There is no ‘one-size’ fits all method
• Be open to a little bit of trial and error