Waldo Jaquith, a web developer at the University of Virginia's Miller Center, has always been interested in understanding state laws, but it was a personal experience that turned thought into action. Code 46.2-300 is the one that did it for Jaquith. He got pulled over in Scottsville and did not have his license on him.
"My understanding of Virginia law is you have to be licensed, but you don't have to be carrying a license with you," he said.
Jaquith searched the web for some clarity, but ended up more confused.
"I found it really hard to figure out exactly what the law was," he said.
That's when he got to work, spending lots of nights and weekends researching. Now, all of his work is just a click away on his website, State Decoded. It gives you the history of a law, efforts to amend them, and any changes to that law.
"There might have been a whole bunch of court decisions that have drastically changed that law," he explained.
The project is going national, thanks to a $165,000 grant from the Knight Foundation. In a year and a half, this program should be available to every state in the union, already a half a dozen states have expressed interest.
"The idea here is that I want just for regular people to be able to understand quickly and easily what the law is," stated Jaquith.
On his site, people will be able look at a code and see the court decision, as well as a dictionary so people can break down what the words in those decisions mean. They will also be able to ask questions, and start a conversation with others about any law.
State Delegate David Toscano is aware of the project and says it's a good thing, "transparency is the name of the game."
"Anytime we can make the laws of Virginia more discernable to the public is a better thing," he continued.
Toscano has introduced several pieces of legislation dealing with budget transparency.
"We're going to try an encourage more of that at the state level," Toscano stated.
Jaquith says it hard to believe how all of this is coming together, and it's all thanks to a speeding ticket.
Jaquith's Web site is not online just yet. Click here to be directed to the preliminary site.
