"I'm pretty sure all regulations are available on the internet."
You may find it interesting that the Municipal Code for my current city, and probably yours, is a copyrighted document prepared by a private company. Illegal for you to make a copy without paying them. Our city doesn't have the resources to create such a document. The publisher is able to create a generic municipal code and then make minor alterations for individual cities.
I worked for the private law firm that wrote the Chicago municipal code. The attorney whose name appeared as author was simply the head of a committee, but he had connections and got all the credit. That was a merger of private/public cooperation long ago that probably was beneficial to the City and lucrative for my boss.
Ownership of the law, in written form, will be more commercialized over time. Slashdot readers are pushing for scientific journals to be more 'open' ... This is another place where openness is important.
"Ask Slashdot: How Can Technology Improve the Judicial System?" - this is it.