Legal Definitions - prospective statute

A prospective statute is a law that applies to future events. This means that it only affects things that happen after the law is passed, not things that happened before. For example, if a law is passed that increases the minimum wage to $15 per hour starting next year, it is a prospective statute because it only applies to wages earned after the law goes into effect.

Another example of a prospective statute is a law that requires all new cars to have backup cameras starting in 2022. This law only applies to cars manufactured after 2022, not to cars that were made before.

Prospective statutes are important because they allow lawmakers to change the rules for the future without disrupting the past. This means that people and businesses can plan for the future without worrying about sudden changes in the law.