In December, I wrote a criticizing the Colorado Revised Statutes, lampooning their length and density and suggesting that our legislators focus on drafting laws that are “clear, concise and congruent.” Feedback from the legal community was positive. Lawyers and paralegals weighed in, agreeing with me, calling our state’s statutes “impenetrable” and wondering whether it wouldn’t be easier to crack top secret Russian military code than to determine a particular statute’s “legislative intent.”
However, Rep. Max Tyler, D-Lakewood, was having none of it. He took me to task, saying the way I had written the column left the impression that legislators write the laws. They do not. An agency of the General Assembly, the Office of Legislative Legal Services, is charged with that responsibility.
Tyler also challenged my contention that Colorado laws are dense and confusing. He attached a bill from the 2013 legislative session which in his opinion, while not at the “see Spot run” level, was still clear and straightforward. He then asked, had I ever taken the time and trouble to read just one bill? Had I ever come down to the legislature to see for myself how bills are drafted and discussed? Did I know that the Capitol is located in Denver?
I acknowledged that I had not read any bills nor visited the legislature in well over a decade. So he invited me to be his guest on the House floor, where I recently spent an entire day, watching proceedings in the House and attending legislative committee hearings. I also met with staff from the Office of Legislative Legal Services, who explained in great detail the role of this nonpartisan agency, their responsibilities in drafting bills, and the policies and procedures they follow to ensure that they provide the highest level of legal services to Colorado legislators.
They pointed out that bill-drafting is a rigorously disciplined process, precise and meticulous, as evidenced by their legislative drafting manual, which is hundreds of pages long. They are not writing mystery novels or Harlequin romances. Staff members make every effort to follow plain language and gender-neutral requirements when drafting new bills, and if existing statutes fail to meet those requirements, it is no easy matter, as they explained, to tinker with a body of law over a century old and 26,000 pages long.
Plus, the office handles hundreds of bills every session: writing, editing and revising many times over until the legislator gives final approval, so the staff is constantly pushed for time. Bills don’t always come out right, people make mistakes, but their goal is always to be as accurate and complete as possible when drafting bills.
When the meeting concluded, I was exhausted, head spinning with information overload, overwhelmed by all the work it takes to launch a bill on its long journey down the yellow brick road to the governor’s office. I just wanted to sit down with a martini and channel Teen Talk Barbie: “Lawmaking is so harrrrrd! Let’s go shopping!”
I am grateful to Tyler and the OLLS staff for making the time to meet with me. Thanks to them, I’ve been able to wipe the three-egg omelette off my face and turn an embarrassing gaffe into a terrific learning opportunity.
Teresa Keegan (tkeegan@ecentral.com) works for the courts in Denver.
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