what if a lawmaker has it out for a particular publisher or writer, and purposefully quotes their copyrighted texts in legislation Technically, this ability

what if a lawmaker has it out for a particular publisher or writer, and purposefully quotes their copyrighted texts in legislation Technically, this ability already exists in some ways. Parliamentary Privilege [1] allows members of parliament to speak freely without fear of legal sanction. As a result of a defamation case brought against Hansard [2] in the 19th century, parliamentary publications (e.g. a transcript from parliament) are also protected by absolute privilege [3]. That's UK law, but it's a common template for Westminster-system style legislatures. So a law-maker could read out a book in its entirety, which could then be published in its entirety as a transcript of parliamentary publications. It's social norms and conventions on parliamentary behaviour that prevent its abuse, rather than copyright law. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliamentary_privilege https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliamentary_privilege [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hansard https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hansard [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliamentary_Papers_Act_1840 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliamentary_Papers_Act_1840 (edit: typo)