Jesse Scheckner
The changes keep coming under Speaker-designate Daniel Perez, who just unveiled a new bill analysis format designed to make the document more readable, useful and interactive for House members.
Going away: sections of the document that Perez says are “redundant, unnecessary, or unused.”
Being added: a more direct layout that places vital information at the top, links enabling readers to move quickly in and out of the document and new sections clarifying the legislation and its history.
Perez, a Miami Republican, noted in a Friday memo that the change represents a shift away from the bill analysis format and design that House members have been using for at least 40 years.
“It will present new challenges for our staff both in adapting our current practices and in integrating the new technological features into their work,” he said. “But we believe the outcomes will be worth it.”
The new bill analysis form (viewable below) will have several interactive features for computer and mobile device users. Clicking on a key term in the “Effect of the Bill” section, which is being moved from the bottom of the document to the first page, will take users to a portion of the “Background” section explaining the term or concept. Users can then return to where they were with another click.
Each analysis will contain several other links. One will take readers to the section of the House bill that would change current Florida law.
“We hope this will give you an even better facility with statutory language and highlight how the choices we make in drafting a bill translate to the impacts of a bill,” Perez said.
Others will enable readers to more quickly move through the document so they can “customize (their) reading experience and focus on the information (they) need and want to know.”
One immediately noticeable change in the new bill analysis format is that the summary portion of the document — containing shortened versions of the “Effect of the Bill” and “Fiscal or Economic Impact” sections — will be at the very top and encased in a blue box.
Ahead of committee meetings and floor sessions, House members will be able to generate a document that contains all the summary blue boxes from all the analyses onto a single document. Perez said that will provide members with “an easy reference guide.”
The analysis will also now include a “Relative Information” section containing a “Recent Legislative History” feature that identifies related or similar bills from recent Sessions. There will also be an “Other Resources” section to route readers to other relevant information.
Another new section of the analysis is one familiar to those who have visited bill pages on the House or Senate websites: “Bill History.” As its name suggests, the section will detail the measure’s legislative journey through the chamber, including votes and amendments at each committee stop.
Perez announced the new bill analysis format one day after he eased restrictions on House members’ speech and announced plans to “modernize” the chamber’s website with several features, including customizable member pages.
This month, he also identified members of the House’s incoming leadership team and informed members that he was shaking up the chamber’s committee apparatus to make it “leaner,” more effective and geared toward reducing wasteful spending.
He also shared plans for several rules changes for House members concerning lobbying, attendance and bill drafting, filing and hearing processes. Among them: allowing House members to travel on private jets if they pay a pro-rata portion of the flight’s cost and stricter barriers against unregistered former House members lobbying lawmakers in the chamber.
The 2025 Regular Session begins on March 4.
One comment
The Ghost of HOB
November 18, 2024 at 4:27 pm
So much cleaner and direct! Love it. I will not miss wading through 12-15 pages of “present situation” before actually getting to what needs to be known.
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