legislative power
legislative power. Constitutional law. The power to make laws and to alter them; a legislative body’s exclusive authority to make, amend, and repeal laws. • Under federal law, this power is vested in Congress, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate. A legislative body may delegate a portion of its lawmaking authority to agencies within the executive branch for purposes of rulemaking and regulation. But a legislative body may not delegate its authority to the judicial branch, and the judicial branch may not encroach on legislative duties. [Cases: Constitutional Law 50–66. C.J.S. Constitutional Law §§ 54, 58–59, 111–168.]
