Online Legislative Drafting Resources

Legislative Drafting Manuals and Aids

Legislative Drafting Manuals

Regulatory Drafting Manuals

Australia: Victoria (Department of Premier and Cabinet, Office of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel)

United States (National Archives and Records Administration, Office of the Federal Register)

United States: Alaska (Department of Law)

United States: Connecticut (Legislative Commissioners' Office)

United States: Indiana (Legisaltive Council)

United States: Minnesota (Office of the Revisor of Statutes)

United States: Ohio (Legislative Service Commission)

Legislative Drafting Process

"The Genesis of Laws" by Hilary Penfold (First Parliamentary Counsel of Australia)

Computerized Tools for Drafting

Jurix 93 – Symposium on Legal Knowledge Based Systems:Intelligent Tools for Drafting Legislation and Computer-Supported Comparison of Law (Foundation for Legal Knowledge Systems)

"Legislative Technique a Basis of a Legislative Drafting System" by Stijn Debaene, Raf van Kuyck and Bea Van Buggenhout

Gender References

"Gender Neutralizing State Laws" by Pamela Martin and James McKee

Legislative Intent

"Colorado Legislative Law-Making and Legislative Intents" (Westminster Law Library, University of Denver College of Law)

"Drafting Legislative Intent Statements" by Alice Boler Ackerman

Multilingual Drafting

"A Paper Discussing Cases Where the Two Language Texts of an Enactment are Alleged to Be Different" by the Hong Kong Department of Justice (Law Drafting Division)

Plain Language

"Be on the Cutting Edge: Learn These Seven Plain Language Principles Now!" by Carol Ann Wilson

Clarity: The worldwide lawyers' group campaigning for plain legal language

"How to Write Well" (National Performance Review)

"NLRB Style Manual: A Guide for Legal Writing in Plain English" by National Labor Relations Board

Plain English Campaign (United Kingdom)

"Plain English Manual" by the Australian Office of Parliamentary Counsel

Plain Language Action Network—National Partnership for Reinventing Government

Plain Language Association International

Professional Responsibilities of Drafters

"Attorney-Client Relationship and Legislative Lawyers: The State Legislature As Organizational Client" by Douglas G. Brown and Dan L. Cartin

"Ethics and Politics of Drafting: A Review of David Marcello's Presentation" by Bruce Feustel

"OLLS Guidelines for Working with Lobbyists" Colorado General Assembly, Office of Legislative Legal Services

Punctuation and Indentations

"The (almost) million-dollar comma" by Karen Smith

"Effect of Margins on Legislative Drafting" by Elliot Chabot

"Shall", "will", "may", and similar words

"A tool-box approach to 'shall'" by Jack Stark

Specificity in Legislative Drafting

"Drafting Styles: Fuzzy or Fussy?" by Lisbeth Campbell

Legislative Drafting Book Reviews

Legislative Drafting: Principles and Techniques by B. R. Atre

compiled by Elliot C. Chabot, esq.
United States House of Representatives
November 19, 2002