Andy Taylor says bill titles are all about framing.
The N.C. State University professor said that most legislators know the substance of a bill by the time they vote on it, so a misleading or vague title won't help.
"A fancy title or some kind of framing should not fool them," he said. "But bills are also packaged for public consumption as well, and the public is not quite as informed."
He said that one key is whether the media picks up the official title or reports on the effects on the bill instead.
"The media are a very important intermediary here," he told Dome. "It really depends on people like you and people like myself — how political commentators, columnists and reporters discuss these things."
