Training Module: Creating an Act of the NIA and submitting to TNA

📘 Introduction

Before you can complete this exercise you will need a bill. If you have completed Training Module: Preparing the 'as amended' version of the bill, you can use the published ‘As amended’ version.

If you haven’t completed the other publishing bills and acts modules you will need to create a project containing a bill: As_Introduced.xml

The following steps will allow you to create the data required for this exercise.

How to create a new project

Download the XML document for the exercise by clicking on the link you’ve been provided with. By default, the downloaded file is usually placed in the “downloads” folder on your computer.
Log in to Lawmaker.
From the Dashboard, create a new project of the type you need for the exercise. Give it a title such as [Your Initials] Preparing NI bills and acts for publication bill. (See Creating a new project.)
From the Project tab for that project, select Document Actions > Upload document, and select the XML file for the exercise which you have downloaded. It can be uploaded into the default folder that has been created in the project. (See Create a new document by uploading an XML file.)
On the newly uploaded document version, select Actions > Update Document Information and update the Title to match the title you originally gave the project.

Create an act version of the final bill version, filling in all fields apart from the Royal Assent date.

Creating the Speaker’s Copy

Detailed steps to create the Speaker's Copy

From the Project tab, find the final Bill version and select Actions > Create Act Version adding the act year and Chapter number but leave Assent Date empty
Find the Act version on the Project tab that is created and select Actions > Generate PDF
Download the PDF version and send to Speaker for signing

Duplicate the Speaker’s version to create the final Royal Assent version to be sent to the National Archives for publication.

Creating the final Royal Assent version

Detailed steps to create the final Royal Assent version

From the Project tab, find the Speaker’s version and select Actions > Duplicate version
On the newly created version, select Actions > Update Document Information and this time add the Assent Date
Select Actions > Generate PDF
Download the PDF and save it in the necessary folder
Click on the black triangle to the left of the Act version name to expand the view of snapshots
Find the PDF snapshot you just created and select Actions > Submit to TNA
On the significant version that will appear on the right-hand side, select Actions > Download ZIP file
Log onto TNA’s Publishing Portal
Upload the zip file