Making laws
legislature
The body that makes law. At the federal level it is Congress; every state has its own, and every city and county has a council or board that does the same job locally.
In full
A legislature is the lawmaking branch: it writes statutes, raises and spends money, and oversees the officials who carry the laws out. Its members are elected, which is the point, since the power to make binding rules is the power most directly answerable to voters. Legislature is the generic word; Congress, general assembly, and state house are particular names for one.
Also written as: legislative branch, lawmaking body
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A plain-language explanation for civic education, not legal advice. When in doubt, the official source named above controls.