How does acts turn into law?

Answer 1

That is country-dependent. In Australia, where I reside, a law passed by Parliament is referred to as an Act of Parliament. Laws start as bills – proposed laws – which put policies into action. Bills are considered by the Parliament, and if passed, are signed into law by the Governor-General. Laws are often called legislation. Note there are laws not passed by Parliament, eg those part of our constitution. They override laws passed by Parliament if Parliament, for some reason, passes a law that contradicts the Constitution. You may think you would have to be pretty stupid to do that, but these things are complicated, which is why we have constitutional lawyers whose job is to sort out those kinds of errors. Additionally, a minister can create policy, which, in practice, is often equivalent to law, but, as policy, exceptions can and are frequently made by the minister.

Answer 2

In general, some common steps for an act to become a law include: proposal or bill is drafted, introduced in a legislative body, reviewed and debated in committees, voted on by the legislative body, approved by both legislative houses, signed by the executive (such as the president or governor), and officially enacted.