ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Rider (legislation)

Imagine you are riding a bicycle. You want to go from your house to the park. But there are some things you don't like about the bicycle. Maybe the seat is not comfortable, or the handlebars are too high for you. So, you tell your mommy or daddy about these things and ask if they can make some changes to the bicycle to make it more comfortable for you.

In legislation, a rider is kind of like those changes you want to make to your bicycle. It is an extra piece of information that lawmakers add to a bill to change or add something to it. Just like you wanted changes made to your bicycle, lawmakers might want changes made to a bill. They do this by adding riders.

But why do lawmakers add riders to bills? Well, sometimes there are many different things that lawmakers want to do, but they can't pass them all separately because it takes a long time. So, instead, they add their ideas as riders to a bigger bill that is already going to be passed.

For example, let's say there is a bill called the "Park Renovation Bill" that is going to give money to fix up parks. One lawmaker might have an idea to build a new playground in their district, while another lawmaker wants to add money for new benches in another district. Instead of making separate bills for each idea, they add them as riders to the Park Renovation Bill.

Now, just like you might not like some changes to your bicycle, not everyone likes riders in legislation. Some people think that riders are not fair because they are added to bills that are already going to become laws. They say that lawmakers should have to vote on each idea separately, so everyone can see what they are voting for.

But riders can also be helpful. They allow lawmakers to make changes and add things to bills quickly, without having to start from scratch. This can save time and help more things get done. It's kind of like getting more than just one thing done at the same time.

So, riders in legislation are like changes or additions that lawmakers make to bills by attaching them to a bigger bill. Some people think riders are good because they help things get done faster, while others think they are not fair because they are added without being voted on separately.