As is often the case with internet searches, I went down a rabbit hole this week researching the proper way to cite California legislation. Whereas the Oregon legislature follows the US Congress model of having a Senate and a House of Representatives, I learned that California calls its lower house the “California State Assembly.” Accordingly, California legislation can be a Senate Bill (SB) or an Assembly Bill (AB). I also learned that the legal system has its own set of style guides to ensure consistent citations, which yield a citation like “N.Y. Legis. Assemb. A-300. Reg. Sess. 2011-2012 (2011)” according to this handy guide from Cornell.
It was at this point that I thankfully took a quick break to walk my dog and came back with fresh eyes and a clear head. I realized I was asking the wrong question. I didn’t want to know the right way to cite the bill, I wanted to know the best way. My original purpose was to help the reader understand that the acronym and number provided in the sentence referred to a certain piece of legislation. So rather than draft a proper—albeit cryptic—footnote, what I really needed to do was rewrite the sentence to provide more context. Done!
Rewriting to improve readability is a great tool in a writer’s toolbag. It’s also one of the best ways to get out of sticky grammar situations, because a sentence may have correct grammar yet still seem awkward to a reader. When in doubt, rewrite!