Get Me Rewrite

Section 6219 of the state government code requires “each department, commission, office or other administrative agency of state government” to write “each document” in “plain, straightforward language, avoiding technical terms as much as possible, and using a coherent and easily readable style.”

So what is this “plain, straightforward language?” There are some good examples of state writing out there; check the reports by the Senate Office of Research, for example. Bad writing is easier to find. For example:

“Pursuant to Section 80110 of the California Water Code, the Rate Agreement between the State of California Department of Water Resources (the ‘Department’ or ‘DWR’) and the California Public Utilities Commission (the ‘Commission’ or ‘CPUC’), dated March 8, 2002 (the ‘Rate Agreement’), and Division 23, Chapter 4, Sections 510-517 of the California Code of Regulations (‘the Regulations’), the Department hereby