The Plain Writing Act of 2010

You will all be happy to learn that the president has signed The Plain Writing Act of 2010. The email that I got from the Office of the Federal Register gave the public law number as 111-274 (H.R. 946). The statute defines "plain writing" as follows:

The term ??plain writing?? means writing that is clear, concise, well-organized, and follows other best practices appropriate to the subject or field and intended audience.

The heart of the three page law is this:

Beginning not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, each agency shall use plain writing in every covered document of the agency that the agency issues or substantially revises.

The law defines "covered document" as follows:

The term ??covered document???

(A) means any document that?

(i) is necessary for obtaining any Federal Government benefit or service or filing taxes;

(ii) provides information about any Federal Government benefit or service; or

(iii) explains to the public how to comply with a requirement the Federal Government administers or enforces;

( includes (whether in paper or electronic form) a letter, publication, form, notice, or instruction; and

( C) does not include a regulation.

My interpretation is that internal policy memos are not covered, so it's okay for them to continue to be vague, wordy, and disorganized, like DoD Under Secretary Carter's DOD 17-page memo about acquisition reform. I suppose that letters and emails from COs and CORs might be included by virtue of (A)(iii) and (. I doubt that contracts are included, but the definition is broad, so who knows? But thanks to , you cannot expect improvement in the FAR and agency supplements.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the training will cost about $5 million per year. The CBO obviously hasn't read Under Secretary Carter's memo.