Legal Definitions - session laws

Session laws refer to the collection of all new laws, amendments to existing laws, and repealed laws passed by a legislative body (such as a state legislature or the U.S. Congress) during a specific legislative session. These laws are typically published in chronological order as they are enacted, often in temporary volumes, before they are later organized and integrated into the official code of laws.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• State Legislature's Annual Output: Imagine the state of "Evergreen" holds a legislative session every year from January to June. During its 2023 session, the Evergreen State Legislature passes a new law establishing a statewide recycling program, amends an existing statute regarding property taxes, and repeals an outdated regulation on horse-drawn carriages. All of these individual acts, passed and signed into law during that specific six-month period, would collectively be compiled and published as the session laws for Evergreen State's 2023 legislative session. This compilation serves as the official record of all legislative changes made that year.

• Federal Congressional Acts: The U.S. Congress, during its 118th session (which spans two years), enacts numerous pieces of legislation. For instance, they might pass the "National Renewable Energy Investment Act of 2023," a bill to fund veterans' healthcare, and several resolutions. Each of these public and private laws, once signed by the President, is chronologically added to the official record of acts passed during that particular congressional session. These collected acts, documenting the legislative output of the 118th Congress, constitute the federal session laws for that period, eventually published in volumes known as the United States Statutes at Large.

• Biennial Legislative Session: Some states operate on a biennial legislative calendar, meaning their main legislative session occurs every two years. Consider the state of "Frontier," which holds its legislative session from 2023 to 2024. During this two-year period, the Frontier State Legislature passes a comprehensive education reform bill, a new state budget, and several local government funding measures. All of these enacted statutes, from the beginning to the end of the 2023-2024 session, would be gathered and published together as the session laws for that specific biennial period, providing a complete record of all new legislation from that legislative cycle.