This
reference is for students and instructors who have questions about how to
complete certain tasks in the LegSim environment. The Desktop Democracy version of LegSim does not include some of the
tools described here. Your instructor may also choose to use these tools
differently that is described here or in the other tutorials.
If you have a problem. We often don’t know that a problem
exists unless our users tell us. If a feature is not working, or you notice something that can be
improved (including these tool tips), please send us a quick note at support@legsim.org. You are doing
other students a favor. Be as specific as possible (including copying and
pasting the error message if possible) so that we can easily isolate the
problem. Thanks!
Placing
students into sections
Communication
with the other chamber
Chamber
and Committee Leader functions
Managing
legislation in committee
Managing
committee reported bills on the floor
Floor
debate and voting - House
Floor
debate and voting - Senate
Reconciling
inter-chamber differences
A bicameral session will not work properly until two separate
LegSim simulations have been joined. In one session, go to administration/system/join sessions and select the invite option. To complete the join,
you must now log in to the other session, go to the same location, and accept
the invitation.
President
You must also create two President (executive) accounts (one
in the House and one in the Senate) that contain identical information (same
user name etc).
Setting up an assignment
On-line assignments are created by the Administrator or
Instructor at Instruction/Assignments.
Assignments are automatically distributed to students (along with a message) at
the time specified by the instructor. The instructor specifies what types of
files can be uploaded by students (e.g. .doc or .pdf or both), and when the
assignment will be distributed, when it is due, and the last date when they
will be accepted.
Students may not use the tool correctly the first time, so
you may want to encourage them to double check that their assignment has been
uploaded, AND that it has been submitted to you.
Grading an assignment
Submitted assignments can be viewed by Section on the
Instructors or Administrators Desk.
Click on the Assignments tab to view
responses by student. Click on the file icon to open or download the file the
student has uploaded.
When you assign a grade on-line, the student is able to view
it along with any comments on her own assignments page. In addition, grades are
archived on an instructor spreadsheet that can be accessed via the adjacent Download Data tab.
Completing an Assignment
Students find assignments posted by their instructor at members/my assignments.
There are 2 steps to the assignment submission process. The
first is to UPLOAD the document containing your response. Once you have
CONFIRMED that the document has been uploaded (and you have opened it to confirm
that it is not empty), then you must SUBMIT the assignment to the instructor.
Do NOT click submit unless the file that has been uploaded is the one you want
the instructor to grade. You cannot upload a new file after the assignment has
been submitted
If you login as the administrator, you can assume any other
account in the session. When you want to return to administrator status, click
on the revert button near the top of the page.
Only the student knows her password. The administrator
(usually the instructor) can provide a student with a new password at administration/users/change password. Copy
the password provided and email it to the student.
To find a lost user name, first assume the students account (see above). While the account is being
accessed, you will see the user name displayed for a brief period of time at
the top of the website page.
Some classes have multiple instructional sections. The
administrator can assign students to different sections under administrator/groups. These sections
can be assigned to different instructors (teaching assistants) if desired, who
then have grading access for their students only. Students cannot be assigned
to sections until they have created their accounts.
The constituencies students represent can be selected by
students or assigned by the instructor. The CongressQuickGuide discusses
considerations related to these assignments. The tools available to the
administrator can be found at administration/profiles
Mail distributed through the LegSim Dear colleague system is
archived in each users mailbox (under the members
link on the sidebar). Members can manage their mail by assigning it to
different folders based on its important etc.
Mail problems. If someone is not receiving LegSim
emails via his or her email account, it is possible that the e-mail server is
not working properly. The first thing to do is to confirm that the missing email
is in the mailbox. If it is there, then
we know that LegSim sent it and it got lost. Next, check to make sure that the
e-mail address displayed on the member profile page is correct. If the e-mail
address is correct, then have the student check the junk folder in his or her e-mail
account (although some systems delete junk mail daily so this is not foolproof).
If it is there, the (hotmail, yahoo etc) spam filter needs to be configured to
accept mail from legsim.org. If it is not there, try sending another email to
that student’s account and see if s/he receives it within a few moments.
If there is still a problem or if it is obvious that many
students are not getting LegSim e-mails, send us a bug report at support@legsim.org explaining the problem
in as much detail as possible.
If desired, the administrator can limit which committees are
available to certain sections at administration/groups/manage
committee requests. This option facilitates in person committee meeting
when sections meet at different times during the day.
Chamber leaders are assigned by the administrator at administration/groups/assign leaders.
The Chamber leaders then assign committee members, including chairs, using
tools available at floor/leaders desk
Normally, the student who creates a caucus or party becomes
its leader, and then decides whether other students who request membership will
be admitted.
If the administrator wants to control the party assignment
process, there are two options. First, to create a party, go to administration/groups/manage groups. Under
administration/groups/assign party
membership, the instructor can assign student names to a party from a
dropdown box.
The second option allows students to choose their parties.
After the parties have been created, students can request membership. The administrator can go to the party under organizations, click on the party leader’s desk, and ‘admit’
students who have requested membership in the party.
See members/edit
profile
See members/change
password
See floor/submit
legislation. Also see
instruction/sample bill
Click on the desired bill and scroll to the bottom of the
page. If amendments are in order, there will be a submit amendment option.
See clerk/search
legislation.
Any member can create a party or caucus under organizations. The member who creates
it is its official leader, has special tools for managing its activities,
including admitting other members.
See Organizations.
A member cannot join an organization without the leader’s consent.
First, a member ‘requests’ membership in the
organization.
Second, the leader of the organization ‘admits”
the member. A member can belong to only one party, but as many caucuses as
desired
Click on the bill and scroll to the bottom. If amendments
are in order, there will be a cosponsor
legislation option
You must be a member of the committee to participate in its
activities. Check that you are a member first at committees/list committees (select your committee). To participate,
click on your Committee members desk and select the desired activity. A bill
cannot be reported from committee until a hearing has been scheduled, the
committee has voted to pass the bill from committee, and a committee report has
been prepared. The committee chair is responsible for scheduling these
activities, but can also delegate responsibility to other committee members.
Joining Legislation
between chambers
Only the sponsors of bills can link a bill in one chamber to
a bill in the other (this option is at the bottom of the bill itself and is
visible to the sponsor only). The sponsor in one chamber proposes to join
legislation, but the legislation is not actually joined until the sponsor of
the bill in the other chamber accepts the invitation.
For more information about joined bills, see Reconciliation
below.
A member of one chamber can observe activities in the other
chamber, and send mail by using the switch
chambers option. Switch chambers again to return.
Committees can choose to ignore or consider bills referred
to them for review. If the committee would like to see legislative action on a
bill, it must report it to the chamber. The process of committee consideration
is controlled by the committee chairman, but a bill cannot be reported without
the consent of a majority of committee members.
The committee chair must be formally appointed by the
chamber leader (or administrator). The chair has a chairmans desk on the committee page. This is where the committee
chair is able to schedule hearings
on bills that have been referred, schedules
votes on bills and amendments (but only after a hearing has been scheduled),
and prepares reports (but only after
the committee has formally voted to report the bill).
If a bill does not appear in the selection box at any one of
these stages, it is probably because the previous step has not yet taken place
(e.g. a vote is not allowed until a hearing has been scheduled).
The substance of votes. In committee as well as on the floor, the leader who schedules the vote
is responsible for providing the content of what is being voted on. For
example, to schedule a vote on an amendment, the leader selects the amendment
from the drop down box. The text box then includes the amendment as originally
introduced. The leader can leave the amendment as is or modify it (for example
to reflect an earlier amendment to the amendment). The same applies to final
votes on bills. When a bill is selected from the dropdown box, it appears as
originally introduced. If the chamber has previously adopted amendments, then
the leader must revise the text of the bill to incorporate those changes.
The chair will also notice additional tools that enable him
or her to delegate responsibility for preparing a report, or to invite
non-committee members to participate in a a committee hearing (submit on line comments).
Typically, the chair takes primary responsibility for
promoting bills once they have been reported. This includes consulting with the
leadership and/or the Rules committee (in the House) to move the bill to the
top of the agenda. During debate, the committee chair controls the time available
to proponents of the bill and frames the initial debate with an opening
statement.
The chamber leader schedules all floor votes on procedural
motions, amendments, and legislation in accordance with parliamentary
procedure. A bill cannot be considered on the floor until it is reported by the
committee leader or discharged from committee by the chamber leader. Once
reported, the Speaker places it on a calendar at floor/leaders desk/calendar.
Except for the Desktop Democracy version of LegSim, the
floor scheduling process in LegSim is inflexible. Ordinary House procedures
require that bills be considered in their order on the calendar. ***This means
that the Speaker can only
schedule votes on the bill that is at the top of the calendar.***
Ordinary procedure can be circumvented if the Rules
committee proposes a special rule (using
the special rules template that is available at that committee only), and the
special rule is adopted. If the rule
passes (by an on-line vote), the legislation indicated in the rule can then be
scheduled for floor consideration by the Speaker. Specifically, the schedule a vote page on the Leaders
Desk will now display the bills or motions that are now in order.
The substance of votes. In committee as well as on the floor, the leader who schedules the vote
is responsible for providing the content of what is being voted on. For
example, to schedule a vote on an amendment, the leader selects the amendment
from the drop down box. The text box then includes the amendment as originally
introduced. The leader can leave the amendment as is or modify it (for example
to reflect an earlier amendment to the amendment). The same applies to final
votes on bills. When a bill is selected from the dropdown box, it appears as
originally introduced. If the chamber has previously adopted amendments, then
the leader must revise the text of the bill to incorporate those changes.
If needed, the LegSim administrator (not the Speaker)
can also move a bill up the calender using administration/legislation/manage calendar.
The instructor and Speaker also have the ability to enter the results of an
in-class vote via the leaders desk. But this is only possible for bills at the
top of the calendar or in order because of a special rule.
Senate procedures are similarly unforgiving. A bill cannot
be considered on the Senate floor until it is reported by the committee leader
or discharged from committee by the chamber leader. Once reported, the majority
leader places it on the calendar at floor/leaders
desk/calendar.
In the Senate, the majority leader cannot simply bring the
bill that is at the top of the calendar up for a vote. Using tools on the
leaders desk, s/he must first formally schedule a vote to propose consideration
of the legislation. In this motion to
proceed, s/he proposes terms for the bills consideration (sort of like the
Rules committees role in the House). This proposal can be in the form of 1) a
unanimous consent agreement (unanimous support is required for adoption) or 2) a
simple motion (majority rule requirement).
If the Senate passes this motion (on-line), the bill is listed
as available for vote scheduling in the drop down box under schedule a vote on the Leaders Desk. The
fun is just beginning though. See the filibuster and cloture topics below for
more information about voting in the Senate. Also, see the leader tutorials and
rules of procedure for more discussion of these topics
If needed, the LegSim administrator (not the Speaker)
can also move a bill up the calendar using administration/legislation/manage
calendar. The instructor and Speaker also have the ability to enter the
results of an in-class vote via the leaders desk. But this is only possible for
bills at the top of the calendar or in order because of a special rule.
If the motion to proceed passes, the majority leader can
schedules votes consistent with the terms of the motion. When senators go to
the debate and voting page and click on the bill, they see a message ready to vote. This is the mechanism for a filibuster in
LegSim. When one senator switches this message to debating, by clicking on it,
the vote that is taking place stops.
The only ways to commence the vote
are to either persuade the member to stop debating, or for the legislature to
pass a cloture motion (the only vote that can be scheduled during a
filibuster).
Unless debating members can be persuaded otherwise, the only
options to proceed is either to withdraw the bill and move on to another issue,
or pass a cloture motion (floor/leaders
desk/schedule cloture vote). This procedural vote must pass by a 3/5ths
majority and it cannot be filibustered. In the U.S. Senate the terms of cloture
are specified in the rules. In LegSim, the majority leader specifies the terms
in the cloture motion itself. Thus it behooves senators to read what they are
voting on!
If you are doing a bicameral simulation and have made it
this far, congratulations!
In LegSim, the process of reconciliation (meeting the
requirement that each chamber pass an identical bill) works as follows. There
is no passing of legislation between the chambers. Each chamber is responsible
for producing identical legislation, and the chamber leaders are responsible
for enrolling the legislation (the clerk would normally do this), thus ensuring
that the two versions are identical and a bill is ready to be sent to the
President.
The bills to be reconciled must be joined (see above). When
a joined bill passes one chamber, LegSim automatically sends a message to the
other chamber (stuff happens though, so it would be a good idea to confirm that
the other chamber is aware of developments!).
When the other chamber passes its version of the joined
bill, both bills are automatically referred to Leaders desk/Reconcile legislation. Both versions of the
legislation are displayed on each leaders desk. The leader must confirm that
they are identical by enrolling the bill. When both leaders confirm, the bill
is sent to the President. Otherwise, changes must be made by one or both
chambers to eliminate the discrepancies (after which the leaders enroll).
The President then has the options of signing or vetoing both
bills. If the President signs, each bill(s) in enacted and indicated as such in
each of the respective chambers. If s/he vetoes them, the chamber leaders have
the option of scheduling privileged veto override motions, which must pass by
2/3rds majorities.
LegSim does not provide a formal mechanism for a pocket
veto. Sorry!
The floor/leaders
desk/schedule vote includes an option for entering a vote that occurred in
class, whether it was a voice vote or recorded. The administrator has the
ability to edit previous votes if necessary. However, except for Desktop
Democracy, votes can only be entered for votes that are at the top of the
calendar or are in order due to a special rule.