Legislation

About: Legislation is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 62664 publications have been published within this topic receiving 585188 citations. The topic is also known as: law & act.

Defining Child Exposure to Domestic Violence as Neglect: Minnesota's Difficult Experience

Abstract: Policymakers are increasingly focusing on children exposed to domestic violence. The 1999 Minnesota legislature amended the definition of child neglect to include a child's exposure to family violence. What was initially seen as a simple change to bring more attention to children exposed to domestic violence resulted in great turmoil across Minnesota's county-run child protection system. Referrals to county child protection agencies expanded rapidly in the months following the law change, and no new state funding was provided to implement the legislation. A coalition of child welfare administrators and battered women's advocates successfully lobbied for the repeal of this change in definition. Many were dissatisfied with both the impact of the legislation and the fact that exposed children and their families were left without badly needed services. This article reconstructs how Minnesota's legislature made this change, its consequences, and the lessons that may be drawn from this experience.

Bilingual Education and English-Only: A Language-Planning Framework

Abstract: Public debate about English-only invariably includes reference to bilingual education; furthermore, both are recognized to be language-policy issues. Yet there has been no systematic treatment of English-only placing it within a language-planning framework that also includes bilingual education. This article attempts to do so, examining English-only in the context of corpus and status language-planning types; restrictive and expansive goals; aims, implementation, and evaluation processes; and language-as-problem, language-as-right, and language-as-resource orientations. It argues that a complete consideration of this language-policy issue needs to include both bilingual-education legislation and the widespread concern for English usage; that English-only goals need to be contrasted with other language-planning goals; and that both the underlying orientations and the future implementation of English-only policies properly belong in the arena of debate.

Legislating Change? Responses to Criminalizing Female Genital Cutting in Senegal.

Abstract: Although the international community has recently promoted legislation as an important reform strategy for ending female genital cutting (FGC), there exist divergent views on its potential effects. Supporters argue that legal prohibition of FGC has a general deterrent effect, while others argue legislation can be perceived as coercive, and derail local efforts to end the practice. This study examines the range of responses observed in rural Senegal, where a 1999 anti-FGC law was imposed on communities in which the practice was being actively contested and targeted for elimination. Drawing on data from a mixed-methods study, we analyze responses in relation to two leading theories on social regulation, the law and economics and law and society paradigms, which make divergent predictions on the interplay between social norms and legal norms. Among supporters of FGC, legal norms ran counter to social norms, and did little to deter the practice, and in some instances incited reactance or drove the practice underground. Conversely, where FGC was being contested, legislation served to strengthen the stance of those contemplating or favoring abandonment. We conclude that legislation can complement other reform strategies by creating an “enabling environment” that supports those who have or wish to abandon FGC.

The Clean Water Act Tmdl Program: Law, Policy, and Implementation

Abstract: The Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) program is becoming a fact of life for many industries, the EPA, and state and local agencies. Make sure that you know all there is to know about the TMDL requirements of clean water legislation! This is the definitive guide--newly revised and updated to include new chapters, information, and appendices.

The politics of antismoking legislation.

Abstract: To understand why some states have enacted relatively stringent laws to control smoking in public places while others have not, we examined the political evolution of tobacco control initiatives in six states: New York, Minnesota, Florida, Illinois, Texas, and Arizona. Taken together, the case studies demonstrate the difficulties inherent in enacting strong statewide tobacco control legislation. More important, several unmistakable themes emerge from these case studies, shedding light on the barriers to greater legislative success. These themes include the manner in which the legislative debate is framed by antismoking advocates and the tobacco industry, the relative dearth of leadership provided by medical and health organizations, the role of public opinion, and the complex interaction that exists between statewide antismoking legislation and local antismoking ordinances. Understanding how these issues affect legislative outcomes may help antismoking advocates enact future statewide tobacco control initiatives. It may also present lessons applicable to future battles over other public health legislation.