casemark/bill-summary

Legislative Bill Summary

Neutral, plain-language summary of a U.S. bill with section pinpoints, fiscal data, stakeholder impacts, and "as of" status dating.

Quick Start

Gather before drafting:

• Bill text — full or latest engrossed version
• Metadata — number, title, sponsor(s), chamber, status, amendments
• Supporting docs — fiscal notes, committee reports, staff briefs
• Current law — statutes/regulations being amended
• Jurisdiction — federal or state/territory; session/legislature

Workflow

1. Confirm latest bill version and amendment history
2. Record official status with "as of" date
3. Identify current-law baseline for each amended statute
4. Extract fiscal/appropriation figures and agency impacts
5. Note documented opposition/support positions
6. Draft summary using the section order and provision format below

Section Order

Produce all sections in this order:

| Section | Contents | |---|---| | Identifiers | Bill number, title, jurisdiction, session, chamber, sponsor(s), co-sponsors, intro date, status (as of DATE), last action, effective date(s) | | Intent / Problem | Problem statement, policy objectives, triggering events or case law | | Major Provisions | Per provision: current law → change → effect; affected parties; enforcement; admin authority | | Fiscal / Budget | One-time costs, ongoing costs, revenue impacts, funding sources, agency burden | | Stakeholder Impact | Individuals, businesses, nonprofits, agencies; rights expanded/restricted; compliance obligations | | Implementation | Rulemaking authority, phase-in, reporting, evaluation, sunset clauses | | Controversies / Risks | Opposition points, constitutional/preemption issues, state-law conflicts | | Comparative / Trend | Alignment or divergence from other jurisdictions or recent trends | | Open Questions | Missing data, unclear definitions, unresolved operational details |

Provision Format

Repeat per provision:

[Section cite, e.g., Sec. 4(b)(2)]
- Current law: (one sentence)
- Change: (one sentence)
- Effect: (1–3 sentences)
- Affected: (groups or agencies)
- Enforcement: (entity and mechanism)

Pitfalls and Checks

• Always use precise section pinpoints (e.g., "Sec. 4(b)(2)").
• Stay neutral — do not advocate or predict outcomes.
• Missing fiscal data → state "No fiscal note located."
• Flag constitutional, preemption, or conflict issues; append [VERIFY] when uncertain.
• Translate jargon to plain language but preserve defined terms of art.
• State disagreement among sources explicitly.
• Never infer intent beyond documented statements or committee materials.
• Every status reference must carry an "as of" date.

Key changes: Removed tags (not in spec). Tightened description to focus on what/when without a keyword list. Replaced verbose Prerequisites + Output Structure + template block with a compact Quick Start, numbered Workflow, and single reference table. Collapsed the provision template into one concise block. Renamed Guidelines to Pitfalls and Checks for scannability. Cut ~40% of tokens while preserving all domain accuracy and legal structure.