Organization of a Bill
from
United
States Senate, Office of the Legislative Counsel
Legislative Drafting Manual (1997)
Sec. 111. Organization of a bill.
(a) Single Subject Matter Bill.A bill that addresses a single subject matter contains some or all of the following provisions and may be organized as follows:
Section 1. Short title; table of contents; references.
Sec. 2. Findings and purposes.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
Sec. 4. Basic program authority or establishment of office.
Sec. 5. Administrative provisions.
Sec. 6. Regulations.
Sec. 7. Civil penalties.
Sec. 8. Criminal penalties.
Sec. 9. Reports.
Sec. 10. Authorization of appropriations.
Sec. 11. Conforming amendments.
Sec. 12. Transition rules and savings provisions.
Sec. 13. Effective date (and termination of authority, if applicable).
(b) Complex Bill.A long bill or a bill that addresses more than 1 subject matter contains some or all of the following provisions and is organized as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents; references.
Sec. 2. Findings and purposes.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
Title IMajor legislative component
Sec. 1001.
Subtitle A
Sec. 1101.
Chapter 1
Sec. 1111.
Subchapter A
Sec. 1121.
Part I
Sec. 1131.
Subpart A
Sec. 1141.
Subtitle B
Sec. 1201.
Title IIMajor legislative component
Sec. 2001.
Sec. 2002.
Sec. 2003.
Sec. 112. Organization of a section.
(a) In General.A section contains some or all of the following provisions and is organized as follows:
Sec. 101. Section heading.
(a) Definitions.
(b) General Rule.
(c) Exceptions.
(d) Special Rules.
(e) Transition Rules.
(f) Effective Date.
(b) Section Breakdown.A section is subdivided and indented as follows:
(a) Subsection.
(1) Paragraph.
(A) Subparagraph.
(i) Clause.
(I) Subclause.
(aa) Item.[To be avoided].
(AA) Subitem.[To be avoided].