Commission reviews codification errors, vendor and staff outline corrective steps

The Tennessee commission on Nov. 18 discussed problems in this year’s codification process and heard a series of corrective steps from staff and the vendor to reduce errors and improve timing.

Jamie, a commission staff member, told commissioners the codification season was ‘‘a little bit difficult’’ and that the office received a dramatic increase in formatting errors and later-than-expected materials. Jamie said those issues forced staff to spend additional hours parsing and correcting the proofs.

Brian Kennedy, the Lexis representative, acknowledged the vendor’s role in the problems and said his team conducted a line-by-line review of Jamie’s feedback. He described changes the vendor has implemented: adding an additional review step before sending proofs back, better documentation of instructions, aligning the vendor’s publication guide with the commission’s drafting conventions, and using a Tennessee-trained core team complemented by a training checklist for temporary staff.

During follow-up questions, commissioners asked about monitoring mechanisms and timelines. Brian said the changes have been documented and that training will occur "prior to the codification season next year," which he said begins in early spring when acts are first received for updates. He also said the vendor plans to be more responsive to timing issues so Jamie’s office will not be overburdened when multiple volumes arrive simultaneously.

Why it matters: Accurate and timely codification is essential for published legal reference material used by courts and practitioners. The commission received assurances the vendor and staff have implemented process and training changes to reduce future errors.

Next steps: The vendor and staff will implement the documented changes and carry out training before the next codification season; the commission did not direct a formal action item at the meeting.