This week, we will hold one discussion with two elements. The first elements relates to enactment, and the second relates to implementation. You will utilize the social policy you’ve selected for your Policy Brief as the substance of these discussions.

This forum post is an opportunity to think through enactment and implementation of proposed policies. Enactment means whether or not a law is enacted – that is, does a bill become a law? You may want to watch the iconic Schoolhouse Rock video, “I’m Just a Bill” to remind yourself of how this process operates. Many factors, generally, pertain to whether or not a bill becomes a law. As an example, think about a policy meant to impose term limits on U.S. legislators (term limits would mean that a legislator could only serve a certain number of terms, not as many terms as they can get elected to). Who would like term limits? Well, perhaps someone who wants to serve as a legislator would like this, because there would be less competition from incumbents. Who would not like it? Probably, the existing legislators would not like this very much.  Who has more power in this determination – the would-be legislators, or the actual legislators? Most likely, the existing legislators are in positions of greater power, and this issue is also likely a very high priority for them. This would suggest the proposed change would be unlikely to be enacted. Implementation means the way in which the policy is put into practice. I’m sure many of you have worked in agencies where the policies or administrative rules “on the books” are different from day-to-day practice in some regards.