Statutory Law

Statutory law, or statutes, come from the legislative branch of government. Legislators are those elected officials who can vote to adopt new laws. There are statutory laws at federal, state, and local levels of government although they might have different names such as ordinances or codes.

A new statute generally starts as a proposal, or bill, but very few bills become enacted into law. For example, between January 2023 and January 2025, approximately 3% of the 19,315 bills in the U.S. Congress were enacted.^[1] In order to advance, a bill must win a majority vote in both the House and Senate. A bill that is approved by Congress is submitted to the president for consideration. At this point, the bill is either signed and becomes a new statute or is vetoed. If the president vetoes the bill, a two-thirds majority vote in both the House and Senate is required to override the veto and pass the bill. If there are enough votes to override the veto, the bill becomes law without the president’s signature.

There is a similar process for each state for enacting state statutes. At the local level, cities, counties, and town also have their own legislative bodies and procedures for adopting new statutes.

Statutory Law In North Carolina

Suppose you are headed over to a friend’s house to watch football on Sunday, and on your way, you stop in at the local supermarket to buy some beer and pretzels for the gang. You carry your six-pack and snacks up to the counter to pay, and the clerk tells you that she’s sorry, but she can’t sell you the beer. At first, you think it’s because she suspects you’re underage, but before you can show her your ID, she explains that she can’t sell alcohol before noon, because: (1) it’s Sunday, and (2) you are in the state of North Carolina.

Shocked, you think she’s joking until she refers you to the following NC Statute: N.C. General Statute 18B-1004(c) states,

“It shall be unlawful to sell or consume alcoholic beverages on any licensed premises from the time at which sale or consumption must cease on Sunday morning until 12:00 noon on that day.”

No amount of begging or pleading will get you the beer, because the owner of the supermarket knows that if she violates N.C. General Statute 18B-1004(c), the store’s alcohol license could be revoked and its alcohol sales ended permanently. This is an example of statutory law.