Collaborative Research: Legislative Tactics and the Durability of Legislation

学者、立法者和公众对为什么有些法律持续了很长一段时间而没有实质性的修改，而另一些法律在相对较短的时间内要么被扼杀，要么被实质性的修改几乎没有理解。是什么造成了这种差异？国会是否使用某些策略来增加一项法律继续保持原有形式的可能性，而不受未来国会的影响？在颁布时是否有条件影响一项法律是否会长期存在？后续条件有什么影响？它们是否会影响一项法律被重大修改的可能性？在这个项目中，我们建立和扩展我们以前的工作（Maltzman和Shipan 2006;即将出版），以研究为什么有些法律在通过后不久就被修改，而另一些法律在未来的国会中保持不变。理解如何设计一项法律以产生长期影响的重要性怎么强调都不过分。首先，一项法律在修改之前持续的时间越长，塑造国家经济、社会和政治福利的潜力就越大。第二，立法的大部分价值--对立法者、利益集团、公众等等--来自于法律本身将具有长期性的假设。当这一原始协议通过未来的修正案进行修订时，这种变化会影响该法律对原始参与者的价值。第三，遵守法律在很大程度上取决于对其寿命的计算。如果一个人认为一项法律很可能被废除或修订，理性的行为者就会放弃对合规性的投资。最后，我们生活在这样一个时代，公众、专家甚至立法者都认识到，国会解决所有社会问题的能力是有限的。这一限制部分反映了两个超出我们项目范围的问题--国家问题的程度和关于政府适当作用的规范性问题。然而，与此同时，这一限制可能反映了这样一个事实，即我们的立法机构一再被要求解决以前国会所面临的问题。我们的项目有可能限制不断重新审视国家面临的问题的必要性。

Scholars, lawmakers, and the general public have little understanding as to why some laws last a long period of time without the substantial amendment while others are either killed or substantially amended in a relative short period of time. What accounts for this difference? Are there certain tactics that Congress uses that increase the likelihood that a law will continue in its original form, unchanged by future Congresses? Are there conditions at the time of enactment that affect whether a law will live a long life? And what effect do subsequent conditions have? Do they influence the likelihood that a law will be amended in a significant way? In this project we build on and extend our earlier work (Maltzman and Shipan 2006; forthcoming) to examine why some laws are amended soon after passage while others remain untouched by future Congresses. The importance of understanding how a law can be designed to have a long lasting impact cannot be overstated. First, the longer a law lasts before it is amended, the greater the potential to shape the nation's economic, social, and political welfare. Second, much of the value of legislation--to legislators, to interest groups, to the general public, and so on--comes from the assumption that the law itself will have longevity. When this original agreement is revised through future amendments, such changes affect the value of that law to the original participants. Third, compliance with the law depends in large part upon a calculation regarding its longevity. If one believes a law is likely to be either rescinded or revised, rational actors will abstain from investing in compliance. Finally, we live in a period when the general public, pundits, and even lawmakers recognize that Congress's capacity to address all of society's problems is limited. Part of this limit reflects two issues that are beyond the scope of our project--the extent of the nation's problems and normative issues regarding the proper role of government. At the same time, however, this limit may reflect the fact that our lawmaking institutions repeatedly are called upon to address issues that had been confronted earlier, by previous Congresses. Our project has the potential to limit the need for consistently revisiting the issues that confront the nation.