Gbl 295: What Are the Differences Between a Bill, Statute, and a Law?

1. Study Question: what are the differences between a bill, statute, and a law? 

A “bill” is a proposed law that has not yet been passed by Congress and signed by the President. A “statute” is a written law that has been passed by Congress and signed by the President (note that at a state level, such as Michigan, statutes are passed by both chambers of the Legislature (State House and State Senate) and signed by the Governor. Lastly, a “law” is a broad term that includes statutes, common law decisions from courts, and administrative rules (which are similar to statutes but promulgated by administrative agencies via the quasi-legislative function of rulemaking). Thus, a “law” is an umbrella term used to describe various things like statutes, but also other types of laws.

提出的“议案”是一个法律尚未国会通过并经总统签署。“法规”是写在纸上的法律,国会通过并经总统签署(注意,在国家层面上,比如密歇根州,法律是通过两院立法(州众议院和参议院)和州长签署的。最后,“法”是一个广义的概念,它包括法令、习惯法从法院的决定,和行政法规(类似于法度但颁布行政机关通过立法的quasi-legislative功能)。因此,“法”是一个涵盖性术语用于描述各种法规,而且其他类型的法律。

1. Some people consider administrative agencies to be a fourth branch of government. Why? 

Administrative agencies are technically part of the Executive Branch of government. The heads of agencies are typically appointed by the President (or, in state government, by the Governor), and they execute the day-to-day functions of government. However, administrative agencies also perform functions that have quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial aspects.

有些人认为行政机关是政府的第四个部门。为什么?行政机构是政府行政部门的技术部分。机构通常是由总统任命的头(或者,在政府,由州长),执行政府的日常功能。然而,行政机关也quasi-legislative和准司法方面的执行功能。

3.  Why does Congress sometimes grant quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial powers to administrative agencies? There are two main reasons: 

1. Expertise 专业知识– first, administrative agencies are the experts in their practice field. Thus, Congress will often direct a specific agency to enact administrative rules to implement the programs it is tasked with overseeing and reach the broader goals set forth in the applicable statute, because the specific agency has a greater understanding and expertise in the area compared to Congress. Example – EPA has much better understanding of environmental issues than Congress, since it is comprised of scientists, engineers, etc., while Congress is filled with politicians. 首先,行政机构是他们的实践领域的专家。因此,国会通常会直接实现一个特定的机构制定行政法规程序负责监督,实现更广泛的目标规定的适用的法令,因为特定的机构在该地区有一个更大的理解和专业知识相对于国会。例子——环保署比国会更好地了解环境问题,因为它是由科学家、工程师、等,而国会充满了政客。