I have no legal experience or knowledge. When the laws are changed, how do lawmakers assess their consequences and effects? Are there special teams that are supposed to take data that measures whether or not a certain policy or law is working?
For example, Oregon just decriminalized drugs. How will we know if it is saving the government money, decreasing BIPOC incarceration, and increasing the resources allocated to addiction recovery centers as proposed? How will we know if drug use is increasing or decreasing as a result?
People always talk about holding legislators accountable. How do you actually do this? What is the time frame for measuring the effects of a policy change?
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Governments collect data about everything. Huge amounts of data. About everything, and especially about money. Any reasonably competent analyst can tease out trends in the data. Some things show up quickly, some things take a year or two or even longer. Those who study and advocate for or against a particular issue know the ins and outs of where to get the data, and how to read it. Whether they do so honestly or in a way that serves their agenda is a different matter, but data analysis is pretty routine.
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