Informed Legislatures: Coping with Science in a Democracy.

• Author: Welden, Amelie

Megabytes, fiber optics, genetic testing, global warming ... these used to be subjects for "tekkies" and "eggheads." But today, elementary school kids are computer experts, and informed townspeople enter debates on everything from environmental preservation to medical practices. As science and technology become integral to everyday life, they break into the political arena, bringing up questions of regulation, ethics and funding.

Faced with such issues, lawmakers are expected to stay informed on topics as varied and complex as biotechnology and Internet security, economic forecasts and biological cloning. Access to accurate, unbiased and understandable scientific information is not always easy to find. Staff may not have the scientific background necessary to understand all the intricacies. Lobbying interest groups may skew their findings. Even reports from professional scientists may be less than useful, since they can be too technical for the typical layperson.

So how can a legislature improve the situation?

This book can help. Informed Legislatures presents the results of the authors' State Legislature Science and Technology Project of 1993-1995, which studied lawmakers' access to high-quality technical information. Legislators and staff members from 11 states shared their thoughts, suggestions and experiences focusing on policymakers' needs for scientific information and on how these can be filled. Also included are sections about the use of technology - especially computers - in state legislatures.

Much of the book is simply a report of survey and interview responses, many of them obvious and a little repetitive...