Legislative Text Flattener

This skill processes Word documents (DOCX) containing legislative or regulatory text and converts hierarchical structures into a flat, numbered list of discrete requirements or provisions.

When to Use This Skill

Activate this skill when the user wants to:

• Flatten hierarchical legislative or regulatory text
• Extract requirements from compliance frameworks
• Convert nested sections/subsections into a linear list
• Prepare legislative text for requirement mapping
• Process Word documents containing legal or regulatory content

Quick Start

Install required dependencies:

pip install python-docx openpyxl

Basic usage (outputs formatted XLSX by default):

python flattener_utility.py input.docx output.xlsx

Or specify format explicitly:

python flattener_utility.py input.docx output.xlsx --format xlsx
python flattener_utility.py input.docx output.csv --format csv
python flattener_utility.py input.docx output.json --format json

Processing Instructions

1. Input Analysis

First, understand the input document structure:

• Read the DOCX file (use python-docx library or convert to text)
• Identify the hierarchical structure (sections, subsections, paragraphs, sub-paragraphs)
• Detect numbering schemes (1.2.3, (a)(b)(c), Article-Section-Paragraph, etc.)
• Note any special formatting or emphasis (bold, italics, SHALL/MUST keywords)

2. Extraction Process

Extract content while preserving context:

• Each discrete requirement or provision becomes a separate item
• Maintain parent context for nested items
• Preserve the original numbering/reference system
• Extract complete sentences or logical requirement units
• Identify normative language (shall, must, should, may)

3. Flattening Strategy

Convert hierarchy to flat structure:

• Assign sequential flat numbering (1, 2, 3...)
• Include original reference in metadata (e.g., "Section 500.02(b)(3)")
• Preserve full context path for each item
• Handle multi-level lists and nested requirements
• Maintain logical groupings where appropriate

4. Output Format

Generate a structured flat list with these fields for each requirement:

Flat ID: [Sequential number]
Original Reference: [Original section/subsection identifier]
Context Path: [Full hierarchical path, e.g., "Article 5 > Section 2 > Paragraph b"]
Requirement Type: [Mandate/Prohibition/Permission/Definition]
Normative Level: [SHALL/MUST/SHOULD/MAY/INFORMATIVE]
Text: [Full requirement text]
Keywords: [Extracted key concepts or compliance areas]
---

5. Implementation Approach

Use this workflow:

# Install required library if needed
# pip install python-docx

from docx import Document
import re

def flatten_legislative_text(docx_path):
    """
    Flattens hierarchical legislative text from DOCX.
    Returns a list of flattened requirements.
    """
    doc = Document(docx_path)
    flattened = []
    flat_id = 1
    context_stack = []

    for paragraph in doc.paragraphs:
        # Skip empty paragraphs
        if not paragraph.text.strip():
            continue

        # Detect hierarchy level (by style or numbering)
        level = detect_level(paragraph)
        original_ref = extract_reference(paragraph)

        # Update context stack
        update_context(context_stack, level, paragraph.text)

        # Extract if it's a requirement (not just a heading)
        if is_requirement(paragraph):
            item = {
                'flat_id': flat_id,
                'original_ref': original_ref,
                'context_path': ' > '.join(context_stack),
                'requirement_type': classify_requirement(paragraph.text),
                'normative_level': extract_normative_level(paragraph.text),
                'text': clean_text(paragraph.text),
                'keywords': extract_keywords(paragraph.text)
            }
            flattened.append(item)
            flat_id += 1

    return flattened

6. Output Options

Provide results in user's preferred format:

• XLSX (Excel): Formatted Excel workbook with styled headers, auto-filter, frozen panes, and optimized column widths (default and recommended)
• CSV: Simple tabular format with all fields as columns
• JSON: Structured data for programmatic use
• Markdown: Human-readable with clear section breaks
• Database insert: SQL statements or database-ready format

7. Quality Checks

Validate the flattening:

• Ensure no requirements are lost or duplicated
• Verify context paths are complete and accurate
• Check that normative language is correctly identified
• Confirm original references are preserved
• Review that similar requirements are consistently formatted

Example Output (Markdown Format)

## Flattened Requirements

### Requirement 1
- **Flat ID**: 1
- **Original Reference**: Section 500.02(a)
- **Context Path**: Part 500 > Section 500.02 > Paragraph (a)
- **Requirement Type**: Mandate
- **Normative Level**: SHALL
- **Text**: Each Covered Entity shall maintain a cybersecurity program designed to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the Covered Entity's Information Systems.
- **Keywords**: cybersecurity program, confidentiality, integrity, availability, Information Systems

---

### Requirement 2
- **Flat ID**: 2
- **Original Reference**: Section 500.02(b)
- **Context Path**: Part 500 > Section 500.02 > Paragraph (b)
- **Requirement Type**: Mandate
- **Normative Level**: SHALL
- **Text**: The cybersecurity program shall be based on the Covered Entity's Risk Assessment and designed to perform the following core cybersecurity functions...
- **Keywords**: Risk Assessment, core cybersecurity functions

---

Notes

• XLSX output is recommended for most use cases as it provides:
  • Professional formatting with styled headers
  • Auto-filter for easy data exploration
  • Frozen header row for scrolling large datasets
  • Optimized column widths for readability
  • Text wrapping for long requirement text
• Handle tables within documents by processing each cell as potential requirement text
• Preserve cross-references between sections where they exist
• Flag ambiguous or incomplete requirements for manual review
• Support batch processing of multiple documents
• Maintain a processing log of any items that couldn't be automatically classified

XLSX Features

The XLSX export includes:

• Header styling: Bold white text on blue background
• Auto-filter: Filter requirements by any column
• Frozen panes: Header row stays visible when scrolling
• Column widths: Optimized for each field type (10-60 characters)
• Text wrapping: Long text automatically wraps for readability
• Borders: Clean grid lines for professional appearance

Supporting Files

See

examples.md

for sample input/output pairs and

template.md

for customizable output templates.