Training Module: Preparing the 'as introduced' version of the bill

A module which explains how the ‘as introduced’ version of the bill is prepared in Lawmaker and published on the API. You have to complete ‘Preparing the bill for introduction’ before you can complete ‘Publishing the bill’ exercise.

📘 Introduction

Preparing 'as introduced' NI bill versions

📚 Exercises

🛠️ Getting started

Before you can complete this exercise, you will need a bill candidate for introduction.
You will need to create a new training project for the ‘Preparing bills and acts for publication’ modules containing a bill candidate for introduction: Candidate_for_introduction.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 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. Upload it into the As Introduced 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.
Open the imported document in the Editor

If this was an Executive Bill, OLC will share their final bill version with you via Lawmaker. This will make the project visible on your dashboard and when you open the bill project, all you will see is a grey significant bill version called Shared on the right-hand of the Project tab. You will have to duplicate this version by selecting Actions > Duplicate Version.

This is explained in the Quick Reference Guide Preparing 'as introduced' NI bill versions

✏️ Exercise 1: Prepare the bill for introduction

This exercise will help you prepare a bill for introduction in Lawmaker.

First step is to find the project containing the bill you want to prepare for introduction and open it so that you are viewing the Project tab.

Step 1: Prepare the bill for introduction

Update the document information and insert front and back covers.

Detailed steps to prepare bill for introduction

In the Project tab, find the bill version you’re using in the exercise and open it in the Editor
In the Editor, update Document Information by clicking on Document Information in right-hand panel and clicking on the Update button at the bottom
Ensure the version rubric is As Introduced, the mandate has been set (e.g. 22-27), the bill number is filled in (e.g. NIA Bill 2), the introduction date is completed and the Sponsor has been selected.
Insert front covers by selecting Insert > Insert front cover
Insert back cover by selecting Insert > Insert back cover

Tips

If the bill is an Executive Bill, select the name of the Minister rather than their ministerial role. This will ensure the back cover displays the name followed by their role.
The capitalisation of the long title on the back cover will be rendered correctly in the PDF
If you supplied a Consideration Stage date, the date would automatically appear when the back cover is inserted. The back cover automatically displays fields that it has values for.

Step 2: Perform final checks

With all the page furniture inserted and updated, you need to check that the content is correct and there isn’t anything in the bill that shouldn’t be there.

Detailed steps to perform final checks

Still in the Editor, check the statements in the front cover to see if any extra statements need adding or if the default ones need updating;
Check there are no mandatory Document Check errors. In this training exercise, there are a couple that will need manual intervention to fix (see tips below)
Check the table of contents shows the clauses, schedules and any grouping levels in sequential order and the capitalisation is correct (parts and chapters are small caps)
Delete any remaining comments & tracked changes (click on the Review right-hand panel)
Delete any J-refs that might accidentally have been left in by selecting Insert > Delete All J-refs

Tips

The leading/trailing spaces document check warning has a quick fix link to fix the issues
The part number will be fixed by renumbering the document. Whenever you renumber the document, you need to update the cross references. Because the provisions have been renumbered, you should also reinsert the table of contents. After you have performed an update to cross references, double check no new document check errors have been identified e.g. for broken cross references.
If you see J-refs in the cross references, it means you have this view enabled (it’s unlikely you will need this as a Bill Office user). To turn it off, go to Tools > Show/hide J-refs in references. Having them displayed in the Editor doesn’t mean they will also be displayed in the PDF as you need to expressly select this option when generating a PDF.
When bill content is pasted from elsewhere, the capitalisation of part and chapter heading might be ALL CAPS rather than Small Caps. It will be obvious when you generate a PDF as the running headers will highlight the error. Just overtype the text in the heading to correct it - Lawmaker will present the heading in Small caps in the body of the bill and in the Table of Contents, and it will correct the running headers.

Step 3: Generate PDF

Once the content and page furniture has been inserted and checked, the bill is ready for printing as a PDF and circulating for official checks.

Detailed steps to generate the PDF

In the Editor, generate a PDF by selecting Document > Generate PDF
Click on the View PDF button on the green confirmation box
Download the PDF and save it in the appropriate repository
Save changes and close the Editor using the Close Editor button
Distribute the bill for official checks before publishing on the website

When you generate a PDF from the Editor, it will print whatever is in the Editor, whether you have saved your changes or not.

✏️ Exercise 2: Publish the bill

Assuming the bill has completed all checks and the PDF that was generated reflects the final version of the bill, then the bill is now ready for publishing

Step 1: Publish the bill in Lawmaker

You need to publish the bill in Lawmaker in order for the amending stage to commence. It is possible to draft traditional amendments before a bill is published, but you won’t be able to submit them until the bill is published.

Detailed steps to publish the bill in Lawmaker

From the Project tab, click on the black triangle to the left of the As Introduced bill version name to expand the view of snapshots
On the grey PDF snapshot version, select Actions > Publish version and confirm the publish warning message.
The published version will appear on the right-hand side of the Project tab and a snapshot is created under the working version.

Step 2: Publish the bill on the website via EPiServer

The Assembly’s website is not yet connected to Lawmaker’s API so you will need to manually upload the bill content onto the website via EPiServer. You will need an un-line numbered bill version to do this.

Detailed steps to publish the bill on the Assembly's website

Find the published version on the right-hand side of the project tab and select Actions > Generate PDF
De-select line numbering and click on the Generate button
Save this PDF somewhere locally
Open MS Word and select Open selecting the PDF that you just saved
Copy the content of the bill into EPiServer and mark up the headings as usual

Publishing the bill in Lawmaker makes the bill available over Lawmaker’s API but you still need to update EPiServer until the website work is complete
To update EPiServer with bill content make sure you generate a PDF without line numbering
Inline amending can only happen when a published bill version exists in Lawmaker so don’t forget to publish in Lawmaker

🩹 Trouble shooting

The Part of Chapter heading appears in CAPS in the running header: this is likely to stem from the import of the bill into Lawmaker using smart paste which cannot differentiate between smallcaps and ALL CAPS. You will need to retype the heading using Sentence case which will fix the header issue (another PDF will need to be generated). You should also check the Table of Contents which might need re-inserting.
The statement on the first page doesn’t show the Minister’s name, only their title: you should select the Minister’s name rather than their title when updating the Member on the Document Information dialog box. Update the Document Information again and re-insert the front cover to see the change.
Published the bill with a mistake? You can ‘silently' republish a bill in Lawmaker. Correct the mistake, generate a new PDF and publish this new PDF snapshot version. As long as the version rubric (e.g. “As Introduced”) hasn’t been changed, the newly published version will replace the existing version so that when inline amendments are created, they will be against the newer version. If you have already created amendments against the older version there is a small risk the page and line numbers on the new version do not match the older version.

☑️ When complete…

Move to Training Module: Drafting amendments inline