A commenter on a recent Civil Beat story posted this inquiry: “SB 926 decriminalizing jaywalking to be effective in the year 2075. Is that a typo?”

No, dear reader, it is not a typo.

The latest draft of Senate Bill 926 — which would authorize pedestrians to cross a street when a “reasonably careful pedestrian” determines that there is no immediate danger from a collision with a vehicle — does indeed state that it will take effect on March 22, 2075.

Except that won’t actually happen. And besides, if it did, most of us will either be dead or too tired to cross streets in the year 2075. If streets even still exist to cross.

The date in question is what’s known around the Big Square Building on Beretania as a “defective date,” or a “defective effective date.”

Such a date — e.g., July 1, 2050 — is commonly inserted into legislation with the understanding that, should the bill be approved by both the House and Senate, it will be given an effective date — e.g., Jan. 1, 2024.

It is done all the time and especially in bills that cross chambers. In fact, lots of the bills set to receive hearings this week are marked as becoming law on either Jan. 1 or July 1 or July 31 in the year 2050, which is 27 years from now.

There are other defective dates at play this session, such as the one given to House Bill 192. It would ban the sale of fluorescent lamps as a new manufactured product … but not until June 30, 3000. That’s not a typo, either, although there is some question as to whether...

Read Full Story: https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiV2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNpdmlsYmVhdC5vcmcv...