Section numbers should be assigned in conformity with §
23.25 (relating to sections) and
§
23.27 (relating to reservation of
numbers). The process of section numbering does not represent simply the
sequential assignment of appropriate section numbers to the sections of the
rearranged and modified initial draft, but rather is a major editorial effort
seeking the best compromise among the following inconsistent
considerations:
(1) In order to
simplify the revised draft and allow for subsequent expansion by amendment,
each subsection of the initial draft should be numbered as a separate
independent section in the final draft.
(2) A title of the Statutes must avoid
section numbers larger than four digits, that is, no chapter may be numbered
beyond 99 and no section beyond 9999. Since even numbered chapters are omitted
to allow for future expansion and since from 25 to 50 section numbers are
required to number the typical chapter, approximately 2,500 section numbers are
actually available for use in a specific title. Thus, assignment of section
numbers on the basis set forth in paragraph (1) may exhaust the available
section numbers.
(3) The numbering
of each subsection of the initial draft as a separate section in the final
draft may require repeated and awkward cross references to closely related
provisions which formerly constituted units of the same section. This condition
indicates the desirability of retaining the prior relationship.
(4) In some instances (for example, the
Business Corporation Law, the Nonprofit Corporation Law and the like), the
statute to be incorporated into and repealed by the bill is well known and
heavily utilized by affected persons and a thoroughgoing renumbering would work
a serious inconvenience to these users. This condition indicates the
desirability of retaining the integrity of the sections of the prior law to the
maximum extent possible.
