enabling act
Law granting powers
An enabling act is legislation that grants authority to take actions that would otherwise be prohibited or impossible.
Most commonly, it refers to laws empowering government bodies to create regulations or implement broader policies: Congress passed an enabling act authorizing the new agency.
Historically, the term is associated with the 1933 German law that gave Hitler dictatorial powers, making it carry ominous connotations in political discourse.
Enacted written rule
- billAmount owed, written
- lawmakingCrafting enforceable rules
- parliamentNational legislative assembly
- legislatureLawmaking governmental branch
codification · provision · clause · amendment · ratification · ordinance · decree · mandate
Formal permission granted
- delegationTransferring responsibility downward
- enablementAct of making possible
- facilitateMake something easier
- capacitateMake fit or able
equip · legitimize · sanction · endorse · validate · grant · confer · vest
Arrangement of interconnected parts
- foundationUnderlying support structure
- blueprintDetailed technical drawing
- mechanismMeans by which something operates
- apparatusEquipment for a task
Legal authority's scope
- oversightSupervision or inadvertent omission
- regulationOfficial rules governing conduct
- administrationOrganizational oversight and control
- executive powerGovernment's enforcement capacity
governmental control · bureaucracy · public administration · regulatory authority · administrative law
Improve by correcting faults
- transitionChange from one state
- restructuringRearranging an existing framework
- reorganizationChanging how something's arranged
- constitutional changeRevision of founding law
regime change · systemic change · institutional reform · power transfer · democratic transition
statute
Enacted written rule
- billAmount owed, written
- lawmakingCrafting enforceable rules
- parliamentNational legislative assembly
legislature · codification · provision · clause · amendment · ratification · ordinance · decree · mandate · charter
authorization
Formal permission granted
- delegationTransferring responsibility downward
- enablementAct of making possible
- facilitateMake something easier
capacitate · equip · legitimize · sanction · endorse · validate · grant · confer · vest · entrust
structure
Arrangement of interconnected parts
- foundationUnderlying support structure
- blueprintDetailed technical drawing
- mechanismMeans by which something operates
apparatus · provision · scaffolding · groundwork · infrastructure
jurisdiction
Legal authority's scope
- oversightSupervision or inadvertent omission
- regulationOfficial rules governing conduct
- administrationOrganizational oversight and control
executive power · governmental control · bureaucracy · public administration · regulatory authority · administrative law
reform
Improve by correcting faults
- transitionChange from one state
- restructuringRearranging an existing framework
- reorganizationChanging how something's arranged
constitutional change · regime change · systemic change · institutional reform · power transfer · democratic transition
enabling actprohibition
Authoritative legal ban
ban · moratorium · injunction · restraining order · sunset clause
enabling actbill of rights
Document listing protected liberties
separation of powers · checks and balances · habeas corpus · judicial review · veto
enable, enabling, enabled, enables, enabler, enablers, able, abler, ablest