There's A Bill For That And It's Just A Click Away

There have been approximately 2,500 bills introduced to the Connecticut General Assembly since it went into session last month. Unless you’re a policy wonk, your eyes are probably glazing over at the very thought.

Readily Apparent, a Connecticut web developer that specializes in data visualization feels your pain. The company has created a colorful, user-friendly chart that lets citizens “drill down” to access individual bills – in four clicks.

The chart is divided into 22 categories, with subjects like Government Administration and Elections (359 bills introduced), Transportation (150 bills), Education (160 bills),  Energy & Technology (63 bills), Public Safety & Security (133 bills) and Consumer Protection (96 bills), to name a few.

“It goes back to the old idea that a picture is worth 1,000 words,” co-owner Brendan Hanrahan told Patch. “We reveal the meaning of information by expressing it visually.”

Hanrahan said with so many bills pending – and the possibility of more to come – the information becomes overwhelming.

“For the average person to have a sense of what’s going on at the capitol is practically impossible,” Hanrahan told Patch. “We think it enables people who are interested in participating in government to work through the morass and drill down on the data. We thought data visualization could facilitate greater public participation in government.”

Using a system Hanrahan calls “tree map graphics,” the site enables visitors to quickly explore policy areas by clicking down through increasingly specific levels to view bills related to their selections. Every bill is just four clicks from the home page.

The site is updated at least daily, and sometimes more often, using information provided by the state.

Hanrahan said he and his partner, David Smith, have been working on the technology for about three years from their Georgetown office. 

“We offer our analytics to advocates, advocacy groups, for town political committees, for lobbying organizations," Hanrahan said.

With the introduction of the Big Picture for the 2011 legislative session, Readily Apparent is making their services available to individuals and small scale subscribers.

Until Feb. 23, a “snapshot” of the Big Picture will be available here. Hanrahan said the snapshot doesn’t include the fourth click, which would link to bill detail pages that relate bills to lawmakers, committees, voting and analyses and to the general assembly web page for a particular bill.

Readers can get information about any bill on a list by going to the CGA website. and entering a bill number in the text field at the top center of the CGA page.