Introduction
- 1. Navigate to the "Legislation" Post Type
- 2. Complete the Form
- 3. Finish
- 4. Optional - Editing a Post
- 1. Navigate to the "Legislation" Post Type
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Begin by logging into HillTop, then mouse over the "Posts" tab (located in the menu at the top of any HillTop page). In the drop-down menu, click on "Legislation." This will bring you to the "Legislation" Post Type's page.
Here, you will see a list of the existing posts, with a sidebar on the right. To begin creating a new post, click the green "Create" button in the right sidebar.
Return to Top - 2. Complete the Form
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Clicking the "Create" button will bring you to the "Add Legislation" form. By selecting the appropriate options here, your post will automatically appear in the correct section of the website.
The relevant sections and fields are as follows:
Title: The title entered here will appear in the "Bill" column on the public facing website (ex. https://www.energy.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/executive-communications). The title will also differ depending on the type of item you are entering - for example, "Executive Communication 2896." "Petitions & Memorials 106," S.3020" (for Senate Bills), etc.
Date: This is the date the item was introduced, or referred to the committee. The date entered in this field will not effect when the item appears on the public site, and can be backdated if necessary. Both fields should list the same date, and the "All Day" option should remain checked.
Content: Here you will enter the long-form description of the item. On Congress.gov, this is listed in their "Abstract" section. The information entered here will appear in the "Description" column on the public-facing website.
Published: Selecting "Yes" will immediately publish the item to the website, after clicking the "Submit" button. Selecting "No" will not publish the item (this can be changed at any time to publish/remove a post - see "Editing a Post" for more information).
Labels
Bill Types: This label is required. Select the type of item you are entering (Senate Bills, Executive Communications, Presidential Nominations, etc.).
Congresses: This label is also required. Select the congress under which the item was introduced (ex. 115th).
Senators: This label is optional. For Senate Bills, select the Sponsor(s) of the bill.
States: This label is optional, and can be left blank unless otherwise directed.
Subcommittees: This label works in an "Either / Or" manner. If specific subcommittees are related to the item being entered, tick their checkboxes to select them - otherwise, select "Full Committee."
Legislation Details
Bill Number: This field is required. Here, enter the item's bill number (or sorting number for non-bills). Note, only numbers can be entered in this field (the system will automatically apply the correct prefix, where needed).
For example, "S. 3062" would be entered as "3062" and "Executive Communication 2896" would be entered as "2896" and so forth.
Long Title: This field is optional, and used for bills. Here, enter the bill's long-form title (ex. "A Bill to...etc.").
Short Title: This field is also optional. If a bill has a short-form title, it can be entered here (ex. "Nevada Land Sovereignty Act").
THOMAS Link: This is the link to the item on Congress.gov (previously THOMAS). This can be copy/pasted from your browser's address bar, when viewing the item on Congress.gov.
For example: When crating a post for "Petitions & Memorials 106," you would enter "https://www.congress.gov/senate-communication/115th-congress/petition-or-memorial/106" in this field.
Nomination - First Name: This field is optional, and intended for Presidential Nominations items. Here, enter the nominee's first name.
Nomination - Last Name: This field is also an optional field, intended for Presidential Nominations. Here, enter the nominee's last name.
Return to Top - 3. Finish
- The remaining fields and sections on the form can be ignored. Once complete, click the "Submit" button to create the post. Using the selected labels and information from the "Legislation Details" section, your post will automatically be added to the appropirate page(s) on the public-facing website. Return to Top
- 4. Optional - Editing a Post
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If the information in an existing post needs to be edited or updated, begin by mousing over the "Posts" tab (located in the menu at the top of any HillTop page), then click on "Legislation." This will bring you back to the "Legislation" Post Type's page.
Here, locate the post you would like to edit from the list on the left side of the page. Depending on what you would like to change, you will choose either the Edit button (pencil icon) or the Properties button (gear icon).
- To change the Title, Date, or Long-form Description of the post, click the Edit button (pencil icon). Here, you can update the Title, Date, and Content fields with new information. Once finished, click the "Submit" button to save your changes.
- To change the Labels, Legislation Details, click the Properties button (gear icon). Here, you can update the selected labels, and change the information entered in the "Legislation Details" section. You can also Publish/Remove a post from the site by changing the "Published?" option.
- To change the Title, Date, or Long-form Description of the post, click the Edit button (pencil icon). Here, you can update the Title, Date, and Content fields with new information. Once finished, click the "Submit" button to save your changes.