LEGISLATION

legislation. 1. The process of making or enacting a positive law in written form, according to some type of formal procedure, by a branch of government constituted to perform this process. — Also termed lawmaking; statute-making. 2. The law so enacted. 3. The whole body of enacted laws.

ancillary legislation.Legislation that is auxiliary to principal legislation.

antideficiency legislation. 1. Legislation enacted to provide revenue to cover a budget deficiency. 2. Legislation enacted to limit the rights of secured creditors to recover in excess of the security. — Also termed (in sense 2) antideficiency statute.

class legislation.See local and special legislation.

general legislation.Legislation that applies to the community at large. [Cases: Statutes  68.

C.J.S. Statutes §§ 154–161.] judicial legislation.The making of new legal rules by judges; JUDGE-MADE LAW(2).

“It has been said to be ‘merely misleading’ to speak of judicial legislation, and it must be admitted that to do so is to use highly metaphorical language. There is no equivalent to the authoritative text of a statute, and, even when they are not bound by a statute or indistinguishable precedent, the judges’ power to innovate is limited by what they cannot consider as well as by what they must consider. They cannot conduct those extensive examinations of empirical data and considerations of social policy which precede, or should precede, much legislation.” Rupert Cross & J.W. Harris, Precedent in English Law 34 (4th ed. 1991).

local and special legislation.Legislation that affects only a specific geographic area or a particular class of persons. • Such legislation is unconstitutional if it arbitrarily or capriciously distinguishes between members of the same class. — Also termed class legislation. [Cases: Statutes  76–104. C.J.S. Statutes §§ 148–149, 151–155, 159, 162–201.]

pork-barrel legislation.Legislation that favors a particular local district by allocating funds or resources to projects (such as constructing a highway or a post office) of economic value to the district and of political advantage to the district’s legislator.

subordinate legislation. 1. Legislation that derives from any authority other than the sovereign power in a state and that therefore depends for its continued existence and validity on some superior or supreme authority. 2.REGULATION(3).

supreme legislation.Legislation that derives directly from the supreme or sovereign power in a state and is therefore incapable of being repealed, annulled, or controlled by any other legislative authority.

4. A proposed law being considered by a legislature <gun-control legislation was debated in the House>.5. The field of study concentrating on statutes.

[Blacks Law 8th]