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Social and Behavioral Sciences

Legislation

Brian Christopher Jones

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Law and Society

Don’T Be Silly: Lawmakers “Rarely” Read Legislation And Oftentimes Don’T Understand It . . . But That’S Okay, Brian Christopher Jones Sep 2013

Don’T Be Silly: Lawmakers “Rarely” Read Legislation And Oftentimes Don’T Understand It . . . But That’S Okay, Brian Christopher Jones

Brian Christopher Jones

During the debate over the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare"), the reading and understanding of legislation became one of the most controversial issues mentioned in Congress and throughout the media. This led many to state that lawmakers should “read the bill,” and led one academic to propose a read-the-bill rule for Congress, where legislators would not vote or vote “no” if they had not read the full text of the legislation. My essay argues that in contemporary legislatures such proposals are unfeasible, and would ultimately produce lower quality legislation. In doing so, the piece uses interviews with legislative …


Drafting Proper Short Bill Titles: Do States Have The Answer?, Brian Christopher Jones Dec 2011

Drafting Proper Short Bill Titles: Do States Have The Answer?, Brian Christopher Jones

Brian Christopher Jones

No abstract provided.