What happens to the remaining provisions when one part of a statute is unconstitutional under severability?

• A. The entire statute is void.
• B. The remaining provisions stay in force.
• C. The legislature must revise the statute to fix issues.
• D. The act is automatically repealed.

Answer: (B)

Severability means that parts of a statute can operate independently. When one provision is found unconstitutional, courts (and sometimes the legislature) will strike that invalid part but leave the rest in effect if the remaining provisions can function on their own and the legislature would have wanted them to stand. That’s why the remaining provisions stay in force: the unconstitutional portion is removed, but the rest of the statute continues to operate as intended, assuming the structure and purpose of the remaining provisions remain workable. The other options would only apply if the statute were inseverable or if the invalid part destroyed the whole purpose, which isn’t the general rule when severability applies; the overall approach is to preserve the valid portions while excising the invalid one.