HSA 345 Legislative Process and the Model Legislature
HSA 345 provides undergraduate students with a highly interactive learning experience that will prepare them to work in or with the legislative process. Through mock committee hearings and floor sessions, students will role play as state legislators, legislative staff and lobbyists, bringing to life the rules of legislative process and parliamentary procedure. Coaching, support and feedback from current and former state legislators and legislative staff will assist students in developing the skills needed to participate in a real legislative setting, whether as staff, as a legislator or as an outside advocate. The course culminates in students hosting and serving as legislative staff for the two-day Metro State Model Legislature, in which a diverse group of area high school and community college students will participate as state legislators.
Prerequisites
4 Undergraduate credits
Effective August 18, 2024 to December 15, 2024
Learning outcomes
General
- Read, interpret and craft amendments to actual legislation currently before the Minnesota Legislature;
- Organize state legislation by subject matter for the purpose of assigning to committees or anticipating legislative pathways;
- Create descriptions of state legislation and provide oral presentations of bills to committees;
- Develop talking points for and against state legislation;
- Explain rules of Minnesota state legislative process and parliamentary procedure; and
- Apply rules of state legislative process and parliamentary procedure to the management of committee hearings and floor sessions, both as users (legislators) and as facilitators of that process (chairs and staff).