Legislative Process in Arizona - Essay Example

The first step is proposing the bill to legislation. If there are no objections on the bill, it will be sent to the appropriate committee. If there are objections on the bill, it's put on the Calendar and postponed to another date. The bill will also become available to the public on the next Congressional Record (Elllars). The days before committee meetings tend to generate greater public attention on the bill, resulting in an increase of lobbyist and interest groups. During this time period, bills will be subjected to the amendment process.

(Gnant, 1999). If the bill makes it through the committee meaning, the process is still nowhere near complete. The Rules Committee must also approve that the bill is constitutional. All senators will come to discuss open bills during the caucus, but there is no formal voting. The Committee of the Whole can then decide to pass it on to be approved by the president (Gnant, 1999). There are so many processes to passing a bill into a law. It is because of these processes that make Arizona legislature so unique.

From the time that a bill to proposed to become a law, public opinion can have great effects on the outcome. The legislation in Arizona give much more political power to the average individual. To exercise this power, citizens should be informed of current initiatives or legislative bills that are being considered. Anyone can access these bills through the Arizona Legislative website. One bill that is currently in process is SB 1108, which states, "The primary purpose of public education is the inculcation of the values of American citizenship.

" (Forde, 2008.) This bill would put restrictions on race-based organizations in public schools. Personally, I disagree with this bill and believe that it infringes on our right to express who we are. I believe that banning these types of organizations is a way to force students to assimilate. The idea of multiculturalism is dead in the United States as it is. This bill further illustrates our ethnocentricism, or "displaying the emotional attitude that regards one's own group or culture as superior and is contemptuous of other groups and cultures.

" (Jain, 1990). Banning race-based organizations would strengthen the belief that American culture should ride over anyone else's culture. Believing that an immigrant can and should completely throw out their old customs and culture is obviously ignorant and ethnocentric, but banning minorities from organizing with people they share an ethnic identity with is almost just as ignorant. For many students, the idea of assimilation is a challenging factor that plagues them for years. Having these types of organizations can help them to be more comfortable in American culture while also developing bonds with people they identify with.

To ban race-based organizations is to force assimilation, and the law should not be passed. Clearly, the political process is a significant role in all our lives, whether we choose to participate or not. Luckily for the people of Arizona, the voice of the public can be heard far more clearly than many states. No matter where you live, however, you have the responsibility to stand up for what you believe in and take advantage of our democracy.