This article analyses ‘digital distortions’ in Rules as Code, which refer to disconnects between regulation and code that arise from interpretive choices in the encoding process.
PolicyEngine US is a Python-based microsimulation model of the US tax and benefit system. It models federal individual income taxes (including credits), major benefit programs, and state income taxes (currently in six states). The PolicyEngine US package can be used as a Python package, via the PolicyEngine API, or via the policyengine.org web app.
The Benefit Cliffs Calculator helps case managers and public benefit recipients to prepare for benefit cliffs (i.e., declines in benefits due to an increase in earnings). It compares the net resources and benefits available to families under different employment scenarios.
Policy changes are often dynamic and occur quickly, but they can only create impact once implemented. The Eligibility APIs Initiative at 18F shares an example from their work that shows the potential for rapid, accurate policy implementation as code.
The DBN’s Rules as Code Community of Practice (RaC CoP) creates a shared learning and exchange space for people working on public benefits eligibility and enrollment systems — and specifically people tackling the issue of how policy becomes software code.
At Rules as Code Demo Day Seth Hartig from the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) and Bank Street College demoed the Policy Rules Database (PRD), a collaborative effort between the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and the NCCP. The primary purpose of the PRD is to simplify the interpretation of all programs by creating a common structure and a common terminology. The repository allows for research on public assistance programs and tax policies, and helps users model benefits cliffs on career pathways. The PRD is supported by a technical manual with pseudocode that helps guide integration and usage in other platforms.
This publication summarizes a body of research about how state benefits administering agencies build and maintain integrated eligibility and enrollment (IEE) systems. It is an easy to reference guide for state administrators, legislators, advocates, and delivery partners.
We kicked off Rules as Code Demo Day with Alex Soble of 18F and Mike Gintz of 10x presenting their Eligibility APIs Initiative that explores whether APIs and rules as code might improve the efficiency and effectiveness with which federal public benefits programs communicate their policy to states. They demonstrated their original prototype, and how the open source code has now been extended into several initiatives.
The New South Wales government describes its efforts to connect with other Australian jurisdictions and international colleagues in its move towards making machine-consumable legislation and policy.
This course from the European Commission aims to provide participants with a comprehensive understanding of Law as Code and its relationship to digital-ready policymaking.
