Anaya Nolan
In the United States, federal statutory law is made up of acts passed by Congress and signed by the President. Each state has a legislative branch that enacts state statutes, an executive branch that creates state regulations, and a judicial branch that applies and interprets these laws. States can make laws on any matter not covered by the federal Constitution, federal statutes, or international treaties ratified by the federal Senate. State laws are often based on uniform acts proposed by private organisations, but these must be enacted by the state legislature to become law.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Who makes statutory law? | Federal statutory laws are made by the Congress, which is the lawmaking branch of the federal government. |
| State laws are made by the state legislature and signed by the state governor. | |
| Can individual states make statutory laws? | States retain the power to make laws covering anything not otherwise preempted by the federal Constitution, federal statutes, or international treaties ratified by the federal Senate. |
| Uniform acts can only become the law of a state if they are enacted by the state legislature. | |
| What are the types of statutory laws? | Public laws relate to the general public, while private laws relate to specific institutions or individuals. |
| Federal statutory laws are designated as Public Laws or Private Laws. | |
| State laws can be uncodified statutes, which means that one has to trace back to the earliest relevant Act and then identify all later Acts that amended or repealed it. |
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What You'll Learn
State legislative branches
In the United States, all states have a legislative branch that enacts state statutes. This branch of the state government is responsible for passing laws, which are then signed by the state governor. These laws are known as state statutes and are found in state codes. For example, Washington State has the Revised Code of Washington, while New York's codes are known simply as "Laws".
The process of creating laws at the state level mirrors that of the federal level, where bills are proposed, discussed, and voted on. A bill can be proposed by a sitting member of the state legislature or recommended by citizens. Once introduced, it is assigned to a committee, which will research, discuss, and make changes to the bill. If passed by the state legislature, the bill is then signed by the governor, becoming a state statute.
In rare cases, the governor may veto the bill, but this can be overridden by a two-thirds majority vote in the state legislature. This process of lawmaking by the state legislative branch is how individual states make statutory law.
It is important to note that uniform acts, which are proposed by private organizations, can also become state law if enacted by the state legislature. These acts aim to provide consistent rules across states in areas traditionally governed by state law. However, their effectiveness in creating uniformity is limited as many acts are not taken up or only enacted in a handful of states.
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Federal vs. state law
Federal statutory law in the United States comprises acts passed by Congress and signed by the President. These acts are designated as Public Laws or Private Laws. Public laws relate to the general public, while private laws relate to specific institutions or individuals. Most of the laws passed by Congress are public laws. Once a bill is passed by Congress and signed by the President, it becomes a Public Law.
State law, on the other hand, is enacted by the state legislature and signed by the state governor. Each state has a legislative branch that enacts state statutes, an executive branch that promulgates state regulations, and a judicial branch that applies, interprets, and occasionally overturns state statutes, regulations, and local ordinances. States can make laws covering anything not preempted by the federal Constitution, federal statutes, or international treaties ratified by the federal Senate.
The process of creating federal law begins with a bill, which can be proposed by a sitting member of Congress, during an election campaign, or by citizens who petition their Congressional representative. The bill is then assigned to a committee, which researches, discusses, and makes changes to it. If the bill passes through the committee stage, it goes to Congress for a vote. If passed by Congress, it goes to the President for signature. If the President vetoes the bill, Congress can override the veto with a two-thirds majority vote, and the bill becomes law. However, if the President does not sign off on the bill and Congress is no longer in session, the bill is vetoed by default, known as a ""pocket veto," which cannot be overridden by Congress.
Similarly, at the state level, bills are passed by the state legislature and signed into law by the governor. In rare cases, the governor may veto the bill, but the state legislature can override this veto with a two-thirds majority vote.
While the federal government creates laws that apply across the nation, states have the power to make laws on a wide range of issues that are not specifically addressed by federal law. This dynamic ensures that federal and state laws work together to govern the country, with each playing a crucial role in shaping the legal landscape.
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Codification
In the United States, individual states have a legislative branch that enacts state statutes, an executive branch that authorises state regulations, and a judicial branch that applies, interprets, and overturns state statutes and regulations. States can make laws on any matter not covered by the federal Constitution, federal statutes, or international treaties ratified by the federal Senate.
The process of arranging statutory law into a coherent structure is known as "codification". Codification is the process of drafting a legal code, a term coined by English legal philosopher Jeremy Bentham. Codification can refer to the traditional European sense of revising the substance of the law to create a better legal system, or it can refer to the process of compiling existing laws into a coherent structure. In the United States, the process of codification was introduced by American lawyer David Dudley Field, building on Bentham's foundational work. The earliest attempt at codification in the US occurred in Massachusetts in 1648.
The advantage of codification is that once the state legislature becomes accustomed to writing new laws as amendments to an existing code, the code will usually reflect democratic sentiment. Each state has an official version of its code, and commercial publishers may also produce unofficial versions. Both the official and unofficial codes include the full text of the state's statutory law. In addition to the statutory text, some codes include annotations that provide references to case law and other materials that cite a particular code section.
Uniform acts are proposed by private organisations to cover areas of law traditionally governed by states, with the aim of creating a consistent set of rules across states. Uniform acts can only become state law if they are enacted by the state legislature. The most influential uniform acts include the Uniform Commercial Code and the Model Penal Code.
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Uniform acts
The drafting process for a uniform law can take at least two years, with some taking up to 15 years. The Uniform Law Commission's website contains a lot of helpful information about the commission, its processes, and the kinds of documents it creates. It also contains a database of all current acts and supplementary information, including a description of the act and what it covers, an enactment map and history, bill tracking, and a committee archive containing meeting and draft documents.
The most successful and influential uniform acts are the Uniform Commercial Code (a joint ALI-ULC project) and the Model Penal Code (from ALI). The Uniform Commercial Code has been adopted by every state. Other uniform acts have been sparsely adopted or not adopted at all. Westlaw’s Uniform Laws Annotated includes the complete set of uniform laws with commentaries and notes regarding differences in various enacted state laws, tables of adopting states with code citations, and commission information. Lexis’ Uniform Law Commission Model Acts (ULCLAW) includes about 175 uniform laws with commentaries.
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State supreme courts
In the United States, each state has a legislative branch that enacts state statutes, an executive branch that authorises state regulations, and a judicial branch that applies, interprets, and occasionally overturns both state statutes and regulations, as well as local ordinances. State supreme courts are the final interpreters of state law unless their interpretation presents a federal issue, in which case the decision may be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
State laws are made by the state legislature and signed by the state governor. They are then arranged chronologically as "session laws" and later codified into the state code, which is arranged by topic. Each state has its own state statutes, and they are found in state codes. For example, Washington State has the Revised Code of Washington, which is a compilation of all permanent laws currently in force.
The process of organising the law, known as codification, was borrowed from civil law and introduced by American lawyer David Dudley Field. The earliest attempt at codification occurred in Massachusetts in 1648. There is much diversity in the structure of the state codes, reflecting the diversity of the statutory law on which they were built. For instance, New York's codes are known simply as "Laws".
Uniform acts are proposed by private organisations to cover areas of law traditionally governed by the states, with the intention of creating a consistent set of rules across the states. However, uniform acts can only become the law of a state if they are enacted by the state legislature.
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Frequently asked questions
Statutory law is law established by an act of the legislature that is signed by the executive. For federal statutory law, the acts are passed by Congress and signed by the President of the United States.
Yes, for state law, the acts are passed by the state legislature and signed by the state governor. Each state has its own state statutes, found in state codes.
Yes, the executive (President or governor) may refuse to sign the bill or reject it, which is known as a "veto".
Yes, in most cases, the legislature (Congress at the federal level) can override the veto with a two-thirds majority of votes.
