Bill Drafting Manual
The preparation of bills and other measures for legislators, legislative committees and state agencies is one of the major functions of the Office of the Legislative Counsel. This manual is intended primarily for drafters in the Legislative Counsel's office.
This manual also is intended to encourage uniformity in the form, style and language of legislative measures because experience has demonstrated that uniformity contributes greatly to the framing of sound and effective legislation. However, it is impossible in a manual of this kind to anticipate or resolve all of the issues that arise in drafting legislation.
In preparing this manual, we have drawn upon manuals of other states and on textbooks. Reed Dickerson's outstanding textbooks Legislative Drafting (1954) and The Fundamentals of Legal Drafting (1965) were especially helpful. We gratefully acknowledge our debt to all of these sources.
Bill Drafting Manual
2008 Edition
Published by
Legislative Counsel Committee
2010, 2008, 2006, 2004, 2000, 1998, 1994, 1992, 1990,
1998, 1986, 1982, 1968, 1962, 1960, 1958
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