A model for determining legislative significance and effectiveness

ABSTRACT How do we determine whether laws are significant and effective? To answer this question, I used data from focus groups and content analysis of laws and newspaper articles to create a model to assess these two factors. In this model, three components of legislative significance are measured: the essence, extent and practicality of the law. The model also assesses legislative effectiveness by measuring three other components: public awareness about the issue, the gap between the intentions of the legislators and the implementation of the law, and the existentiality of the gap. In this study, effectiveness refers to achieving the goal of the legislation and is measured several years past after the date it was enacted. Significance and effectiveness are not separate concepts. They are connected on a time line. The first step in legislation is to understand whether it is significant, which leads to the second step – determining whether it is effective. I tested the model using three Israeli laws from 1987 (the minimum wage law), 1998 (the law against sexual harassment) and 2007 (the provision that outlawed smoking in public places to prevent exposure to second-hand smoke). The results demonstrate that the model is a useful tool for determining whether laws are significant and effective.