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Simple English definitions for legal terms
legislative veto
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A quick definition of legislative veto:
A legislative veto is a way for Congress to cancel a decision made by a government agency. It used to be common, but it was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1983. Basically, Congress would give power to an agency to make rules, but then reserve the right to cancel those rules if they didn't like them. This is no longer allowed.
A more thorough explanation:
A legislative veto is a provision in administrative law that allows Congress to nullify a rulemaking or other action taken by an executive agency. This provision is passed by a majority of Congress but not signed by the President.
For example, Congress would give the INS power to regulate immigration, but retain the power to overrule any of their decisions by legislative veto. However, the legislative veto was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in INS v. Chadha, 462 U.S. 919 (1983).
Overall, the legislative veto was a way for Congress to maintain control over administrative agencies, but it was deemed unconstitutional because it violated the separation of powers between the legislative and executive branches of government.