What is Statute?
[[File:Eo-scale2.png|thumb|right|200px]] A '''statute''' is a written [[law]] passed by a [[state]] or [[Federal government of the United States|federal]] [[legislature]] that creates a [[rule]] or [[Wikt:regulation|regulation]].<ref name=free>{{cite web |url=http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/statute |title=Statute |publisher=The Free Dictionary/Farlex |access-date=17 November 2015}}</ref> Statutes (also called [[legal code]]s) provide the [[authority]] for other laws.<ref name=NOLO>{{cite web |url=http://www.nolo.com/legal-research#role |title=Laws and Cases: How to Do Legal Research |publisher=NOLO |access-date=17 November 2015}}</ref> Many state and federal agencies, such as the [[U.S. Internal Revenue Service|IRS]], [[United States Environmental Protection Agency|EPA]] and state [[Secretary of State|Secretaries of State]] may issue regulations for the areas of the law they cover.<ref name=NOLO/> A statute usually commands something, prohibits something or declares something to be policy.<ref>Harry Campbell Black, Black's Law Dictionary'', Fourth Edition (St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Co., 1968), p. 1581 [http://www.nationallibertyalliance.org/files/docs/Books/Black's%20Law%204th%20edition,%201891.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140701064024/http://nationallibertyalliance.org/files/docs/Books/Black%27s%20Law%204th%20edition%2C%201891.pdf|date=2014-07-01}}''</ref> When there is a [[dispute]] over the meaning of a statute, a state or federal [[court]] may issue a [[judgment]] that [[Wikt:interpret|interpret]]s the statute more clearly. When this happens it also becomes [[case law]].<ref name=NOLO/> Before a statute becomes [[law]] in some [[countries]], it must be agreed upon by the highest [[executive branch|executive]] in the [[government]]. Then it is [[published]] as part of a legal code. In many countries, statutes are organized (or [[Codification (law)|codified]]) for a particular [[jurisdiction]]. In many nations [[statutory law]] is distinguished from and is [[Wikt:subord