# Plain Language Summary: Annotated Constitution Goes Digital

This bill asks the Librarian of Congress to switch the Annotated Constitution from printed books to digital versions. Right now, the Library of Congress publishes the Annotated Constitution as heavy hardbound books, along with regular updates called "pocket-part supplements" that come in physical form. The bill wants to replace all of this with digital versions instead.

The main goal is to save money and make the Annotated Constitution easier for people to access. Hardbound books are expensive to print, store, and ship. Digital versions cost less to produce and update, and anyone with internet access can use them instantly without waiting for physical copies to arrive. This is especially helpful because the Annotated Constitution gets updated regularly as courts make new rulings that affect how the Constitution is interpreted, so digital updates can happen much faster than printing and distributing new books.

Who does this affect? Lawyers, law students, judges, researchers, and anyone else who uses the Annotated Constitution for legal work or education. Instead of going to a library or buying physical books, these people would access the information online. The Library of Congress would save money on printing and distribution costs, which could free up resources for other projects. There's no downside mentioned in the bill—it's essentially a modernization effort to make an important legal resource more efficient and accessible.

To direct the Librarian of Congress to promote the more cost-effective, efficient, and expanded availability of the Annotated Constitution and pocket-part supplements by replacing the hardbound versions with digital versions.

Bice, Stephanie I.

<p>This bill replaces the requirement for the Library of Congress to prepare hardbound versions of the Constitution Annotated and supplements with a requirement for the Library to instead prepare digital versions and publish them online.</p><p>The new requirement applies to the supplement after the Supreme Court term beginning October 2025 and all subsequent editions.</p>