Values

Money and taxes

• Household taxes and fees
  Taxes and fees paid by individuals and families. Supported when: they go down.
• Funding for public services
  Money available for public services. Supported when: it goes up.
• Larger tax share from higher incomes
  Share of taxes paid at each income level. Supported when: higher incomes pay a larger share. Mirror: “Equal tax rates across incomes”.
• Equal tax rates across incomes
  Share of taxes paid at each income level. Supported when: rates move toward the same rate for every income. Mirror: “Larger tax share from higher incomes”.
• Simplicity and evenness of taxes
  Complexity of tax rules; whether activities and industries are taxed alike. Supported when: rules get simpler and more even.
• Public debt and long-term obligations
  Borrowing, bonds, pension and benefit liabilities. Supported when: they go down.
• Budget flexibility
  Spending locked in (earmarks, automatic increases, continuous appropriation) or limits locked in (caps, supermajority rules). Supported when: fewer lock-ins of either kind.
• Guaranteed funding for set purposes
  Spending earmarked, automatically increased, or continuously appropriated for a stated purpose. Supported when: more spending is guaranteed.
• Prices and charges paid by households
  Prices, fees, and charges the text sets, caps, or directly changes, including rent, housing charges, child-care fees, food, goods, and utility services (healthcare prices are on C51, energy prices on C55; predicted price effects of other clauses go to Part B). Supported when: they go down.

Work and business

• Business costs and compliance burden
  Costs, paperwork, and liability for businesses and nonprofits. Supported when: they go down.
• Freedom to start a business or enter a trade
  Licenses, permits, and other entry requirements. Supported when: they loosen.
• Jobs and investment
  Hiring and investment. **Always inference**; answer Q7. Supported when: they likely rise.
• Worker pay, benefits, and protections
  Minimum pay, leave, scheduling, safety rules, wage enforcement. Supported when: they strengthen.
• Worker bargaining and representation
  Workers' ability to organize, bargain, or be represented collectively. Supported when: it expands.
• Consumer protection
  Rules against deceptive, predatory, or hidden practices. Supported when: they strengthen.
• Government favoritism toward particular industries or firms
  Subsidies, carve-outs, exemptions, or protections for specific businesses. Supported when: they decrease.

Property and housing

• Property owners' rights
  Owners' control over use of their property; protection from takings and forfeiture. Supported when: it expands.
• Housing supply
  Rules on building housing (zoning, permitting, approval steps). Supported when: building gets easier.
• Renter stability and protections
  Renters' protection from rent increases and eviction. Supported when: it strengthens.

Government power and accountability

• Limits on government reach
  Government agencies, programs, mandates, staff, regulatory powers, and spending authority. Supported when: any of these is removed or reduced. Mirror: “Government programs and powers”.
• Government programs and powers
  Government agencies, programs, mandates, staff, regulatory powers, and spending authority. Supported when: any of these is created or expanded. Mirror: “Limits on government reach”.
• Decisions by elected officials and voters
  Who makes a decision: elected officials and voters, or appointed boards, agencies, and experts. Supported when: decisions move toward elected officials or voters. Mirror: “Decisions by appointed experts and boards”.
• Decisions by appointed experts and boards
  Who makes a decision: elected officials and voters, or appointed boards, agencies, and experts. Supported when: decisions move toward appointed boards, agencies, or experts. Mirror: “Decisions by elected officials and voters”.
• Transparency and oversight
  Public reporting, audits, open meetings, oversight of public bodies and money. Supported when: they strengthen.
• Local control
  Authority split between local governments and the state (preemption). Supported when: authority moves to local governments. Mirror: “Statewide uniform rules”.
• Statewide uniform rules
  Authority split between local governments and the state (preemption). Supported when: authority moves to the state. Mirror: “Local control”.
• Checks and balances
  Separation of powers and limits between branches. Supported when: they strengthen.
• Ability to enforce rules in court
  Who can sue or be sued, penalties, enforcement powers. Supported when: the ability to sue, penalize, or enforce expands. Mirror: “Protection from lawsuits and penalties”.
• Protection from lawsuits and penalties
  Who can sue or be sued, penalties, enforcement powers. Supported when: exposure to lawsuits, penalties, or enforcement shrinks. Mirror: “Ability to enforce rules in court”.

Rights and liberties

• Freedom of speech and expression
  Protection of speech; compelled or restricted speech. Supported when: protection expands.
• Religious exercise and conscience
  Ability of individuals and organizations to act on religious belief, including exemptions. Supported when: it expands.
• Religious expression in public institutions
  Religious expression in public schools and government. Supported when: it expands. Mirror: “Limits on government religious endorsement”.
• Limits on government religious endorsement
  Limits on public institutions endorsing or sponsoring religion. Supported when: they expand. Mirror: “Religious expression in public institutions”.
• Protection from discrimination
  Anti-discrimination protections, including which characteristics are covered. Supported when: they expand.
• Group-neutral treatment by government
  Whether government programs and decisions consider race, sex, or other group status. Supported when: such consideration decreases.
• Sex-based eligibility rules
  Eligibility for sports, facilities, and programs based on sex as recorded at birth. Supported when: such rules are added.
• Personal privacy and data
  Collection, sharing, and retention of personal data by government or companies. Supported when: it decreases.
• Due process
  Fair procedures, presumption of innocence, legal protections for the accused. Supported when: they strengthen.
• Firearm ownership and carry
  Legal ability to own, carry, and use firearms. Supported when: it expands. Mirror: “Firearm regulation”.
• Firearm regulation
  Rules on purchase, possession, carry, transfer, and storage of firearms. Supported when: they tighten. Mirror: “Firearm ownership and carry”.
• Access to abortion
  Legal access to abortion. Supported when: it expands. Mirror: “Legal protection of prenatal life”.
• Legal protection of prenatal life
  Legal protections for the embryo and fetus (gestational limits, restrictions on abortion). Supported when: they expand. Mirror: “Access to abortion”.
• Personal choice on drugs, gambling, sex work, and similar activities
  Adults' legal freedom to engage in these activities. Supported when: it expands. Mirror: “Restrictions on drugs, gambling, and similar activities”.
• Restrictions on drugs, gambling, and similar activities
  Bans, limits, licensing caps, advertising limits on these activities. Supported when: they tighten. Mirror: “Personal choice on drugs, gambling, sex work, and similar activities”.

Families and education

• Parents' authority over children's education and health
  Parents' rights to know, consent, opt out, and direct. Supported when: they expand.
• Students' access to information and services at school
  Library materials, counseling, and health services available to students without added restriction. Supported when: it expands.
• Education options beyond the assigned public school
  Public funding and legal room for alternatives (charters, vouchers, education savings accounts, homeschool). Supported when: it expands.
• Funding and stability of public school systems
  Resources for and enrollment stability of district schools. Supported when: they increase.
• Teacher pay and job protections
  Teacher pay levels, raises, tenure, and job protections. Supported when: they increase or strengthen.
• Teacher pay tied to performance
  Whether teacher pay, retention, and evaluation depend on measured performance. Supported when: the link to performance strengthens.
• Support for families with children
  Child care, pre-K, child benefits, family leave. Supported when: they expand.
• Retirement security and seniors
  Benefits, pensions, and protections for older residents. Supported when: they strengthen.
• Required curriculum content
  Content that schools must teach, display, or include. Supported when: content is required or added.
• Limits on curriculum content
  Content that schools may not teach, display, or include. Supported when: content is prohibited or restricted.

Safety and justice

• Enforcement and detention capacity
  Police and prosecution resources; arrest and pretrial detention powers. Crime effects are inference (Q4, Q7). Supported when: they increase.
• Shorter sentences and alternatives to incarceration
  Sentence lengths, mandatory minimums, early release, diversion, rehabilitation. Supported when: sentences shorten, or release and alternatives expand. Mirror: “Longer sentences and limits on early release”.
• Longer sentences and limits on early release
  Sentence lengths, mandatory minimums, early release, diversion, rehabilitation. Supported when: sentences lengthen, or release and alternatives narrow. Mirror: “Shorter sentences and alternatives to incarceration”.
• Rights of crime victims
  Victims' notification, participation, and restitution rights. Supported when: they strengthen.
• Police accountability and oversight
  Misconduct oversight, use-of-force limits, officer liability, public data. Supported when: it expands.
• Public-order rules
  Rules on camping, encampments, loitering, public drug use. Supported when: they tighten.
• Housing and services for people who are homeless
  Shelter, housing, and treatment capacity. Supported when: it expands.

Health

• Healthcare coverage and access
  Number of people covered; access to care, including addiction and mental-health treatment. Supported when: it expands.
• Healthcare prices and choice
  Cost of care; patients' and providers' choice among plans and providers. Supported when: prices fall or choice expands.
• Access to contraception and fertility treatment
  Legal access to and coverage of contraception and IVF. Supported when: it expands.

Immigration

• State and local participation in immigration enforcement
  Cooperation, detention agreements, and information sharing with immigration enforcement. Supported when: it expands.
• Legal status, services, and benefits for immigrants
  State-level legal protections, services, and benefits for immigrants. Supported when: they expand.

Environment, energy, and resources

• Environmental protection and climate
  Limits on pollution and emissions; conservation. Supported when: they strengthen.
• Energy cost and reliability
  Energy prices and supply reliability. Supported when: prices fall or reliability improves.
• Pollution burden on specific communities
  Concentrated or cumulative pollution burden in particular neighborhoods. Supported when: it decreases.
• Use and development of land, water, and resources
  Access to shared land, water, and natural resources for use, extraction, or development. Supported when: access for use or development expands.

Elections and democracy

• Ease of registering and voting
  Steps required to register and vote. Supported when: steps are removed or simplified.
• Verification of voter eligibility and ballots
  Identity, eligibility, and ballot verification steps. Supported when: steps are added.
• Political spending disclosure
  Public disclosure of who funds political spending and donations. Supported when: it expands. Mirror: “Political donor privacy”.
• Political donor privacy
  Ability to fund political spending and donations without public disclosure. Supported when: it expands. Mirror: “Political spending disclosure”.
• Limits on political spending and contributions
  Caps and bans on political contributions and spending. Supported when: they tighten.
• Citizens' power to propose and repeal laws
  Initiative, referendum, and recall requirements. Supported when: they get easier.
• Established voting and primary methods
  How votes are cast and counted, and how primaries work. Supported when: single-choice plurality voting or party primaries are adopted or kept. Mirror: “Alternative voting and primary methods”.
• Alternative voting and primary methods
  How votes are cast and counted, and how primaries work. Supported when: ranked-choice voting, top-two, or open primaries are adopted or kept. Mirror: “Established voting and primary methods”.
• District lines drawn by elected legislators
  Who draws legislative and congressional districts, and by what rules. Supported when: elected legislators gain the role. Mirror: “District lines drawn by independent commissions”.
• District lines drawn by independent commissions
  Who draws legislative and congressional districts, and by what rules. Supported when: independent or citizen commissions gain the role. Mirror: “District lines drawn by elected legislators”.

Technology

• Rules on AI and online platforms
  Rules on AI systems, algorithms, and online platforms. Supported when: they tighten. Mirror: “Freedom to build and use new technology”.
• Freedom to build and use new technology
  Room to develop and deploy technology without new restrictions. Supported when: it expands. Mirror: “Rules on AI and online platforms”.

Public infrastructure

• Infrastructure and transportation
  Investment in roads, transit, water systems, broadband. Supported when: it increases.

Questions asked of every clause

The answers are always labeled inference.

1. Compared to what? What does current law do today, and what exactly changes?
2. What does it cost, including what doesn't show up in the budget? Direct cost, compliance cost, opportunity cost
3. Who pays and who benefits in practice? Not just who the text names, but who ends up bearing the cost
4. How will people, businesses, and agencies respond? Incentives created; second-stage effects
5. What problem does it address, and does the mechanism reach it? Consider problems on both sides: spillover costs, information gaps, shared-resource overuse, or unequal bargaining power that the clause may fix; and shortages, entry barriers, capture by the regulated industry, or perverse incentives that the clause may create or remove. If the text asserts a problem without a mechanism, say so
6. Who gains power or discretion? Consider elected officials, agencies, licensing boards, incumbent firms, employers, landlords, public- and private-sector unions, advocacy organizations, and any group that gets concentrated benefits while the costs are spread across many
7. Is the effect empirically settled or disputed? If researchers disagree, say so and describe both findings; don't pick a side
8. How much is lost in administration and enforcement?
9. Can it be undone? Constitutional vs. statutory, amendment threshold, sunset

How the text is written

• Vague or expansive definitions of key terms
• Override language ("notwithstanding any other provision of law")
• Real effect depends on future regulations, appointments, or appropriations
• Unfunded mandate (requires action without funding it)
• Severability clause, or its absence
• Effective date and phase-in
• Amendment restrictions (supermajority to change; "furthers the purposes" limits)
• Possible single-subject issue (unrelated provisions bundled)
• Private right of action created