Problem :: Process of writing legislation is opaque and difficult to track, with large bodies of text attributed to large numbers of people.

Process of writing legislation is opaque and difficult to track, with large bodies of text attributed to large numbers of people.

1,888 Views / Posted by Anonymous

Government Structure

When I read legislation, I frequently find myself wanting to understand the motivations behind the living document. I'd love to know who added what, and what paragraphs were highly edited (suggesting meticulous wording or outside intervention).

Supporters: Aaron Greenspan, David Arnold, Tristin Roney, David Sauter, Jonathan Wallis, Kelly Wooters, Lisa Matulevicz

Opponents: None

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Solutions

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5		Increase accountability among legislators by tracking EVERY document change publicly, from draft to final, and tying each change to an individual who takes responsibility.
		Some legislative docs are already in standard XML format. These could be tracked with a version control system (VCS) like Git, and a custom XML "diff" driver (which the VCS uses to track meaningful changes in XML structure) could be implemented. Here's an example of a custom diff driver for diffing Word documents: http://www.cybersprocket.com/2010/project-management/sdlc/versions/versioning-word-documents-in-git/


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