Which statement best defines a statute?

• A. A law passed by the Florida legislature.
• B. A local municipal code.
• C. A court decision interpreting a law.
• D. A regulation issued by a federal agency.

Answer: (C)

A statute is a written law enacted by a legislative body. It comes from the formal lawmaking process of a legislature (for example, a state legislature like Florida’s) and is codified in statutes that set out rules or prohibitions for the public to follow. A local municipal code is made by a city or county and consists of ordinances for that locality. A court decision interpreting a law is case law; it explains how the statute applies in a specific situation but is not the statute itself. Regulations issued by a federal agency are administrative rules that implement statutes, not statutes themselves. So the statement that best defines a statute is that it is a law passed by a legislative body.