Liberty wrote:seamusTX wrote:Russell wrote:What I don't get is why we put so much faith into our legislature to create/update our laws, yet they can't seem to make it sensible. Why the heck are there still parts of our law that nobody is for sure what they mean?
In the first place, the qualifications for the legislature are minimum age, residence, and lack of felony convictions. They don't have to be lawyers. They don't even have to be able to read.
Then, they have only 80 days to pass all the bills that they're going to pass in a given session. A lot of work is done in the final hours by people who haven't slept for days.
- Jim
I always thought it was because our legislature has so many lawyers and write the laws vaguely just so they can stir up work for themselves and their lawyer buddys.
Nope. Far less than 50% of the Texas House and Senate are attorneys. Obviously I'm biased, but the bills I had a hand in this past session are abundantly clear - so as to avoid being "Rosenthalled."

I was almost lynched for saying something similar several months ago, but it's far easier for an attorney to write a bill that accomplishes a goal, than it is for a non-attorney. Yes, the Legislature has legislative counsel to help draft bills, but those poor folks are grossly over-worked!
Now, where did I dig that foxhole?
Chas.