No bill can be over 30,600 words (~3 hours to read).
Why:
Bills should be read before passing. If George Orwell’s Animal Farm can be conveyed in under 30,000 words, then a bill should be able to do the same. Hypothetically, someone could sit down in 3 hours and ready any bill. This also allows for better accountability on each bill instead of hiding behind high page counts.
Example:
Obamacare would be passed as ~8 bills, and No Child Left Behind would be ~9 bills.
Note:
If the legislation requires more than 30,600 words to be meaningful, the bill may be broken into parts, with each part voted on separately, including a clause indicating bill effectiveness when set # parts passed.
Potential Push back:
“There’s not enough time to do it this way.” Congress’s use of committee to explore topics allows for delegation, but occasionally, especially for spending bills, several bills have to be joined or nothing will get passed. I disagree. Most bills are well below the proposed 30,600 word limit. Bills get long because it’s easier to force legislation through without enabling accountability on each aspect of the law. This proposal would minimize the “I didn’t 20% of the bill but because I liked 80%, I chose to compromise”. I argue this sentiment actually widens partisan gaps.
No more than 7 bills to be passed per week.
Why:
To prevent circumvention of 3a, while allowing an American adult, should they choose to, to spend 3 hours a day at most to stay up to date on passed legislation.
Note:
There can be legal exceptions during wartime or temporary 1 month periods requiring a 60% super majority for enactment.