Title 1 — General ProvisionsRelease 119-73
§109 Repeal of statutes as affecting existing liabilities
Title 1 › Chapter CHAPTER 2— - ACTS AND RESOLUTIONS; FORMALITIES OF ENACTMENT; REPEALS; SEALING OF INSTRUMENTS › § 109
Summary
Repealing a law or letting a temporary law end does not cancel any penalty, forfeiture, or other legal liability that happened while the law was in effect. Those penalties can still be enforced or prosecuted unless the new law ending the old one clearly says they are canceled.
Full Legal Text
Title 1, §109
General Provisions — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
The repeal of any statute shall not have the effect to release or extinguish any penalty, forfeiture, or liability incurred under such statute, unless the repealing Act shall so expressly provide, and such statute shall be treated as still remaining in force for the purpose of sustaining any proper action or prosecution for the enforcement of such penalty, forfeiture, or liability. The expiration of a temporary statute shall not have the effect to release or extinguish any penalty, forfeiture, or liability incurred under such statute, unless the temporary statute shall so expressly provide, and such statute shall be treated as still remaining in force for the purpose of sustaining any proper action or prosecution for the enforcement of such penalty, forfeiture, or liability.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
1 U.S.C. § 109
Title 1 — General Provisions
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73