March 13, 2017
For much of the first week of the Law and Order ECS, we investigated the enforcement of legislation by visiting the police and jails. In addition, we also visited the courts to witness the process in which the accused is tried for his or her charges and learned more about the rights of the accused. Now, our class was able to see the process of creating a law for the police to enforce and the courts to judge.
In order to learn more about the process of creating laws, we attended a session of the House of Representatives as they voted on bills and amendments ranging from arranging funds for a monument for the Sand Creek Massacre to bills that tackle the issues of black market marijuana. Since much of the bills were discussed in committees of the House, specialized groups for certain areas, there was little to no debate regarding the bills or amendments other than a couple of testimonies in favor of the bill. Afterwards, a vote was conducted to determine if the bill or amendment is to pass the House. It was an extremely efficient system as the representatives tried to go through as many bills as possible with the time they had. In addition to witnessing bills being passed in the House, Andrew Thomas, the aide of Representative Pete Lee, explained to our group how the Senate will discuss the bills that pass the House and either pass or reject the bill. If the bill passes, Governor Hickenlooper will either sign the bill into law or veto the bill.
It was eye-opening to see the beginning of laws that justice and rights hinges upon. It is amazing that we had an opportunity such as this because our class was able to view an important process in government that is usually only told through textbooks or lectures. Thank you, Mr. Thomas, for this amazing experience at Capitol Hill!
Follow all the student ECS Blogs on Campus News!
