Adult-Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) Practice Exam

Which of the following is a type of secondary legislation that guides the implementation of primary legislation?

1. Statute.

2. Policy.

3. Regulation.

4. Executive order.

The correct answer is: Regulation.

The correct choice is regulation. Regulations are a form of secondary legislation that are created by governmental agencies under the authority granted to them by primary legislation, also known as statutes. They provide detailed rules and guidelines that dictate how the laws enacted by the legislature should be implemented and enforced. The primary legislation sets forth the broad framework and goals of the law, while regulations fill in the specifics necessary for practical application. For example, if a primary statute establishes a new environmental protection goal, the corresponding regulation would specify the procedures industries must follow to comply with that goal. In contrast, a statute refers to the law created by legislative bodies, which serves as the foundation for further regulations but is not itself a secondary form of legislation. A policy, while it guides decision-making and administrative actions, does not have the force of law in the same manner as regulations. An executive order is an instruction issued by a government executive, typically at a federal level, which can direct the operations of the executive branch but is not specifically a regulatory framework derived from legislation.