Statute Law and Legal Definition
Statute is the law passed by a legislative body. It is the written law passed by legislature, parliament or elected or appointed houses of assembly on the state or federal level. A statute may forbid a certain act, direct a certain act, make a declaration, or set forth governmental mechanisms to aid society.
A statute begins as a bill proposed or sponsored by a legislator. If the bill survives the legislative committee process and is approved by both houses of the legislature, the bill becomes law when it is signed by the executive officer (the president on the federal level or the governor on the state level). When a bill becomes law, the various provisions in the bill are called statutes. The term statute signifies the elevation of a bill from legislative proposal to law.
A statute is also called legislation.
