What is the difference between an ordinance and a statute?

• A. A statute is a local law; an ordinance is a state or federal law enacted by the legislature.
• B. An ordinance is a local law; a statute is a state or federal law enacted by the legislature.
• C. An ordinance is a tax regulation; a statute is a criminal code.
• D. An ordinance is a court decision; a statute is a regulatory rule.

Answer: (B)

An ordinance is a local law enacted by city or county governments to govern community issues, like zoning, building codes, or local noise rules. A statute is a law created by a state or federal legislature that applies more broadly beyond a single locality, such as statewide criminal laws or federal tax rules. The key difference is who makes the law and how wide its reach is: local ordinances address local matters, while statutes come from higher levels of government and cover larger areas.

That’s why this option is the best: it correctly assigns ordinances to local laws and statutes to state or federal laws enacted by the legislature. The other statements mix up who enacts the laws or what they cover, and they also confuse law types with court decisions or administrative rules.