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 Post subject: Is there an AP style for this?
PostPosted: Fri Apr 30, 2004 1:22 pm 
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Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2002 12:01 am
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Location: HuskerLand
I'm querying style rules for references to legislative bills passed by local legislative bodies, e.g. LB 675. Does AP have a style for this and I've missed it or is that another everyone-has-their-own style? Thanks for any follow-up.


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 Post subject: Re: Is there an AP style for this?
PostPosted: Fri Apr 30, 2004 5:54 pm 
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Try phoning the AP bureau in your state capital and asking how they do it. Even if there's no written policy, they probably have one of those we've-always-done-it-this-way rules.


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 Post subject: Re: Is there an AP style for this?
PostPosted: Sat May 01, 2004 9:56 am 
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Isn't "LB 675" jargon?


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 Post subject: Re: Is there an AP style for this?
PostPosted: Sat May 01, 2004 11:35 am 
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Maybe I've always just followed the lead of others who did it wrong, but it's my understanding that once the legislative body (House, Senate) and the type of legislation (bill, resolution) have been established, it's OK for later references to be simply "SB 120" or whatever.


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 Post subject: Re: Is there an AP style for this?
PostPosted: Sat May 01, 2004 7:15 pm 
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I would tend to leave the bill number out and go with a description of the bill instead.<p>If there are competing bills to do something similar, I'd go with something like "the House bill" and "the Senate bill" if that would work, or, failing that, "the Smith bill" and "the Jones bill." Both would be more meaningful to readers than "HR672" and "S65."<p>But if you're going to use bill numbers, I'd go with the style used by the government. I have no objection to "S. 65" or "S65" as long as it's consistent.


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 Post subject: Re: Is there an AP style for this?
PostPosted: Tue May 04, 2004 9:43 am 
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Joined: Mon Oct 27, 2003 1:01 am
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Location: Michigan
I think including the bill number, once, is a good idea. Many if not most legislative Web sites allow bills to be read and tracked, and the easiest way to find them is by number. A certain segment of readers would find the bill number useful, especially if they're trying to follow the progress of a single bill. Newspapers that write a story on a bill can pretty much be counted on not to follow up on it every step of the way.<p>On the other hand, if a story continually refers to the bill as "S.B. 1555," I would rewrite most of them simply as "the bill."


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 Post subject: Re: Is there an AP style for this?
PostPosted: Tue May 04, 2004 11:42 am 
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<blockquote><font size="1" face="TImes, TimesNR, serif">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by mrleemrlee:
A certain segment of readers would find the bill number useful, especially if they're trying to follow the progress of a single bill. <hr></blockquote>I never cut an AP "Read the bill" endline even if I needed that half-inch, but I always wondered if anybody took advantage of it.


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 Post subject: Re: Is there an AP style for this?
PostPosted: Tue May 04, 2004 1:38 pm 
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Location: HuskerLand
In this case, the sentence is something like "Thanks to LB 666, X will finally be in state statute. The bill ... (explains further).<p>Thanks for the advice. I find that our local paper's style is to run the bill and number together -- LB999 -- but our style (which is nowhere to be found on paper) is to separate the LB and the bill number. <p>Thanks for all the replies.


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