[wahern]

This is how some uniform laws are written. For example, each section of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) is followed by commentary, often including example situations. States are encouraged by the UCC committee to incorporate the commentary as part of the official statutes. That makes them binding. Where states choose not to incorporate the commentary, judges usually treat them as strongly persuasive (if non-binding) authority.

The nice thing about the code commentary is that it's easier to append or modify the commentary than a code provision itself. When a provision is changed all the case law is effectively discarded, creating tremendous uncertainty. But changing the commentary is much less likely to break backward compatibility, so to speak.

Of course, the UCC is much more carefully written and reviewed than ad hoc state legislation. The commentary is a little like gilding the lily, relatively speaking.