Follow every bill through its committee

I used to sit in the public gallery on slow afternoons, with a notebook, a flask of chai and no idea what half the words meant. A bill was “in committee”. Was that good? Was it stuck? Nobody I knew could tell me, and the news only turned up when the final vote did.

So I started keeping a notebook of every bill I could find: its name, its stage, the next date and what changed. Then I started explaining it. Each week I write one piece on how the process works, in plain words. I use made-up bills as examples. I do not take sides, I do not say how anyone should vote, and I do not tell you what to think of a bill.

What I sell are the things I use myself: a bill tracker template, a guide to speaking at public hearings, a glossary of parliamentary words and two video courses. I teach you to find where a bill is, read what changed and show up on the day you can be heard.

I write on the bus, on the steps outside the building and at a corner of my home with a microphone and a quilt on the wall. If a word in a piece is unclear, write to me. I will explain it again.