Legal Definitions - special act

A special act refers to a law passed by a legislative body that applies only to a specific individual, group, organization, or a particular geographic area, rather than to the general public or to all entities within a broad class. Unlike a general law, which establishes rules that apply uniformly across an entire jurisdiction or to all situations of a certain type, a special act addresses unique circumstances or grants particular privileges or exemptions to a narrowly defined subject.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• Example 1: Granting Specific Authority to a Municipality

  Imagine a state legislature passes a law that specifically authorizes the city of Riverbend to issue bonds for the construction of a new municipal sports arena, and no other city in the state is granted this particular authority under the same terms. This would be a special act because it targets and empowers only the city of Riverbend, rather than providing a general framework for all cities to fund such projects.

• Example 2: Individual Exemption from a General Rule

  Consider a situation where a country's immigration laws generally require all applicants for citizenship to reside in the country for a minimum of five years. However, the legislature passes a specific law granting citizenship to a renowned scientist, Dr. Elena Petrova, after only two years of residency, due to her extraordinary contributions to national research. This is a special act because it creates an exception to the general residency requirement solely for Dr. Petrova, rather than altering the rule for all scientists or all immigrants.

• Example 3: Specific Land Use Authorization

  A state might have general zoning laws that prohibit commercial development within a certain distance of protected wetlands. However, the legislature passes a special act permitting a specific, named conservation organization, the Green Valley Trust, to build a small, eco-friendly visitor center within a designated protected wetland area for educational purposes. This act is special because it grants a unique exemption from the general zoning restrictions exclusively to the Green Valley Trust for a particular project, rather than changing the zoning laws for all landowners or all conservation groups.