Before any legislation is signed into law by the executive branch, the government (federal, state, local) publishes the legislation for public purview and then sponsors a Find the Loophole contest with monetary cash awards for the first person to find a given, unique loophole, unintended consequence, or sneaky way to violate the spirit of the law without violating the letter of the law. A cash reward of, say $10,000, would cause people to quickly go through the legislation with a “fine toothed comb” in order to be the first to submit. Then the legislature can close the loopholes, perhaps reworking it to avoid the unintended consequences and we, the public end up with the best legislation possible.
Why is this important?
A solution to legislators sneaking in ethical loopholes into legislation or legislation having unintended consequences or ways for one to violate the spirit of a law without violating the letter of the law.
