Legislative Exceptions

[Jonathan Buhacoff]

Proposal:

Laws must be written with the fewest exceptions possible, ideally without exceptions.

When an exception is necessary, it should be rewritten as a separate higher-priority rule.

Intent:

To help the legislature write clear and understandable laws that people can understand and judges can interpret.

Discussion:

An exception is really a higher priority rule. It’s better to write it that way instead of writing it as an exception because writing it as a separate rule clarifies the values to use when applying the law.

For example, instead of writing a law with an exception like “children shall attend school every day except weekends and holidays and days with dangerous weather and except when children are sick”, the legislature should write separate laws “children shall attend school on every designated school day” and “the executive shall designate school days and cancel designated school days as needed” and “the executive shall have the power to excuse a child child attending school on a designated school day for any lawful purpose and with satisfactory documentation” which will cover doctor’s notes, court proceedings, natural disasters, and all other life events that legitimately require the child to be out of school on a given day.

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