Wiki to crowdsource changes to Calif. probate code

 

Connecting state and local government leaders

Citizens can draft, edit and view the bill's history via a wiki set up by California Assemblyman Mike Gatto.

In what is being called the first instance of legislation being “purely crowdsourced,” proposed changes to the California probate code will be created via an online platform similar to Wikipedia’s.

 "This is a great way for people to have a voice in their government," said California Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles). "Too often, special-interest groups draft legislation. In contrast, 'crowdsourcing' a bill on the wiki platform will allow for a fully transparent brainstorming, drafting and editing process that will incorporate ideas from a large group of people. The collective wisdom of the public will choose the final product."

Citizens can draft, edit and view the bill’s history via an online wiki site, MikeGatto.wikispaces.com. Edits can be made anonymously although participants can identify themselves on the site and add a short bio. 

Gatto believes the collaborative and self-policing nature of the wiki will help generate new ideas, provide transparency and eliminate clearly unworkable ideas. 

The idea for using wikis to solicit citizen input on policy or legislation is not new. According to the Atlantic, the first recorded use of collaborative technology to draft legislation was in 2007 when the New Zealand police commissioner put the widely criticized 1958 Police Act on a wiki and invited people to edit it. 

In 2007, Utah state Rep. Steve Urquhart, chairman of the Rules Committee of the Utah House of Representatives, launched Politicopia, a wiki-based forum for compiling information on actual bills pending before the legislature.

In 2010, Defense Department leaders used a wiki-based approach to gain feedback from stakeholders and the public on policy directives for the use of social networking and other Internet-based technologies.

And in 2012, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) launched Project Madison, a public legislative drafting and comment tool initially designed to crowdsource the OPEN Act, an Internet-protecting alternative to SOPA and PIPA antipiracy legislation. Project Madison took off right out of the gate, with 157,000 unique visitors the first day, dozens of very specific suggestions, a growing Twitter following and praise from popular tech blogs, according to Fast Company. But since late 2012, the site has been inactive.

In his release, Gatto notes the wiki initiative strikes a balance between a suggestions-only approach and putting legislation entirely in the hands of the public without vetting by the legislature. On one side, the White House’s crowdsourcing initiative for drafting legislative text, Petitions.WhiteHouse.Gov, does not allow the public to directly draft legislative text. And there is no obligation by the government to act on citizen suggestions. On the flip side, California’s Ballot Initiative provides a process for any California voter to put an initiative or a referendum on the ballot.

According to Gatto, probate law was selected as the trial case for wiki-based collaboration because “large numbers of specialists exist with an interest in participating (lawyers, CPAs, etc.). But also, since almost everyone has had some experience in handling the death of a loved one, large numbers of the public are also likely to have an opinion on how California’s relevant laws could be improved.”

Gatto will introduce consensus results from the wiki by the state legislature’s bill-introduction deadline in early February 2014. Like any other bill, once introduced, both houses of the legislature and the governor would need to sign off on it for it to become law. 

"What if every legislator committed to doing one bill like this? The public will feel like they have taken back their government," Gatto told the Los Angeles Times.  

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.