| name | bill-summary |
| description | Produces neutral, section-pinned U.S. legislative bill summaries translating statutory language into plain terms with identifying data, provisions, fiscal impacts, and controversy. Use when summarizing bills, analyzing proposed legislation, preparing bill briefs, digesting committee reports or fiscal notes, or writing legislative updates. |
Legislative Bill Summary
Neutral, plain-language summary of a U.S. bill with section pinpoints, fiscal data, stakeholder impacts, and "as of" status dating.
Quick Start
Gather before drafting:
- Bill text — full or latest engrossed version
- Metadata — number, title, sponsor(s), chamber, status, amendments
- Supporting docs — fiscal notes, committee reports, staff briefs
- Current law — statutes/regulations being amended
- Jurisdiction — federal or state/territory; session/legislature
Workflow
- Confirm latest bill version and amendment history
- Record official status with "as of" date
- Identify current-law baseline for each amended statute
- Extract fiscal/appropriation figures and agency impacts
- Note documented opposition/support positions
- Draft summary using the section order and provision format below
Section Order
Produce all sections in this order:
| Section | Contents |
|---|
| Identifiers | Bill number, title, jurisdiction, session, chamber, sponsor(s), co-sponsors, intro date, status (as of DATE), last action, effective date(s) |
| Intent / Problem | Problem statement, policy objectives, triggering events or case law |
| Major Provisions | Per provision: current law → change → effect; affected parties; enforcement; admin authority |
| Fiscal / Budget | One-time costs, ongoing costs, revenue impacts, funding sources, agency burden |
| Stakeholder Impact | Individuals, businesses, nonprofits, agencies; rights expanded/restricted; compliance obligations |
| Implementation | Rulemaking authority, phase-in, reporting, evaluation, sunset clauses |
| Controversies / Risks | Opposition points, constitutional/preemption issues, state-law conflicts |
| Comparative / Trend | Alignment or divergence from other jurisdictions or recent trends |
| Open Questions | Missing data, unclear definitions, unresolved operational details |
Provision Format
Repeat per provision:
[Section cite, e.g., Sec. 4(b)(2)]
- Current law: (one sentence)
- Change: (one sentence)
- Effect: (1–3 sentences)
- Affected: (groups or agencies)
- Enforcement: (entity and mechanism)
Pitfalls and Checks
- Always use precise section pinpoints (e.g., "Sec. 4(b)(2)").
- Stay neutral — do not advocate or predict outcomes.
- Missing fiscal data → state "No fiscal note located."
- Flag constitutional, preemption, or conflict issues; append
[VERIFY] when uncertain.
- Translate jargon to plain language but preserve defined terms of art.
- State disagreement among sources explicitly.
- Never infer intent beyond documented statements or committee materials.
- Every status reference must carry an "as of" date.
Key changes: Removed tags (not in spec). Tightened description to focus on what/when without a keyword list. Replaced verbose Prerequisites + Output Structure + template block with a compact Quick Start, numbered Workflow, and single reference table. Collapsed the provision template into one concise block. Renamed Guidelines to Pitfalls and Checks for scannability. Cut ~40% of tokens while preserving all domain accuracy and legal structure.
