Statute

Statute is a source of law. An act of a legislature, a specific law, expressed in writing.

A statute is a written law passed by a legislature on the state or federal level. Statutes set general propositions of law that courts apply to specific situations. A statute may forbid a certain act 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). The term statute signifies the elevation of a bill from legislative proposal to law.