It looks like you're using an Ad Blocker.
Please white-list or disable AboveTopSecret.com in your ad-blocking tool.
Thank you.
Some features of ATS will be disabled while you continue to use an ad-blocker.
'Model' Laws Let States Fill in the Blanks
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - For state legislators across the country, sponsoring bills can be as easy as filling in the blanks.
Groups from both ends of the political spectrum offer lawmakers "model" legislation requiring a minimal amount of tailoring from state to state. The nonpartisan Council of State Governments even issues an annual volume of "Suggested State Legislation" that this year includes templates for 54 bills.
Want to ban schools from collecting students' facial-recognition data without a parent's permission? See page 35. Make it harder for spyware to secretly collect information from computers? Page 50. Make it a crime to travel within or between states to engage in child sex? Flip to page 78, plug in the local information and put it to a vote.
While such templates have been around for years, lawmakers and lobbyists say technology has fanned the model bills from state to state faster than ever. Instead of scanning or even retyping sample bills, lawmakers can simply work with electronic versions of the legislation.
Even groups that create the templates caution against using them as-is, warning they may offer too many benefits to an industry or advocacy group that might have had a hand in crafting the model legislation.
Read More: Newsmax.com