April 24, 2012 8:50AM # Plain Language Regulation? By [Jim Harper](https://www.cato.org/people/jim-harper) --- SHARE Now where have we seen this before? [S. 2337](http://www.washingtonwatch.com/bills/show/112_SN_2337.html) would require that federal regulations use plain writing that is clear, concise, well-organized, and appropriate for the subject matter and intended audience. Well, [according to the “Plain Writing Association](http://www.plain-writing-association.org/plain-writing-background-legislative-history.htm),” efforts to produce plain writing in government go back as far as the 1977 issuance of a [report on federal paperwork](http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.31951d00818930g;page=root;view=image;size=100;seq=7). President Carter [commanded simple and clear regulations](http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=30539#axzz1sxYqYNJ6) in 1978. Twenty years later, President Clinton issued a memorandum calling for “[Plain Language in Government Writing](http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-1998-06-10/pdf/98-15700.pdf).” There’s even a “[Plain​Lan​guage​.gov](http://www.plainlanguage.gov/index.cfm)” Web site already. Because the last Congress passed [Public Law 111–274, the Plain Language Act of 2009](http://www.washingtonwatch.com/bills/show/111_PL_111-274.html). Maybe passing another law will do it. Maybe the search for locution that provides a level of clarity sufficient for public consumption comes from alternate changes in public policy than to amend the expression of their societal impact. (ahem) ##### Related Tags [Regulation](https://www.cato.org/regulatory-studies), [Technology and Privacy](https://www.cato.org/technology-privacy) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).