When does renewal of the PATRIOT Act come up for vote again?
The House just voted to make most of it permanent this week, and the Senate is mulling over it as we speak.
Can’t any law be changed at (almost) any time by the passing of a new Act? Don’t the courts decide how “permanent” a law is? - Jinx
One definition of permanent is “lasting or intending to last indefinitely”, so I think it’s perfectly apt in this situation.
If the legislature had any intention of actually changing it, they’d probably not have voted to remove the sunset provisions noted above.
A “sunset provision” means that the law expires automatically, without any legislative body taking any action.
A “permanant law” exists forever, unless it is changed or repealed by future action of the legislature.
The courts act to interpret the laws, not make them. If two laws are in conflict, the courts decide which to apply.
Does that mean that my use of “permanent” was actual proper in this case, even from a legal standpoint? I was pretty sure it was valid from a semantic standpoint, but had no clue about the legal usage.