What is enabling legislation?

What is enabling legislation?

• A. Defines the scope of the agency's mission and enables it to perform specified functions to implement a legislative scheme
• B. Sets agency salaries and bonuses
• C. Establishes a temporary council with no enforcement power
• D. Outlines only the investigative powers of the agency

Answer: (A)

Enabling legislation is the statute that creates an administrative agency and grants it the authority and mandate to carry out the laws enacted by the legislature. It defines the agency’s mission, the powers it may exercise, and the functions it can perform to implement the legislative program. That’s why the best choice describes it as defining the agency’s scope and enabling it to perform specific functions to implement a legislative scheme. The other options miss the core idea: setting salaries and bonuses is a budgeting matter, a temporary council with no enforcement power wouldn’t provide real authority, and outlining only investigative powers is too narrow to capture the broad authority typically conferred to implement the law.

Enabling legislation is the statute that creates an administrative agency and grants it the authority and mandate to carry out the laws enacted by the legislature. It defines the agency’s mission, the powers it may exercise, and the functions it can perform to implement the legislative program. That’s why the best choice describes it as defining the agency’s scope and enabling it to perform specific functions to implement a legislative scheme. The other options miss the core idea: setting salaries and bonuses is a budgeting matter, a temporary council with no enforcement power wouldn’t provide real authority, and outlining only investigative powers is too narrow to capture the broad authority typically conferred to implement the law.