Final answer:
Legislative acts that set a minimum price limit are called price floors. They are a type of price control, the other being price ceilings, which set a maximum price limit.
Step-by-step explanation:
Legislative acts that put a lower limit on prices are known as price floors. Governments enact these price controls to regulate the economy by ensuring that prices do not fall below a level that would prevent producers from covering their costs and possibly leading to negative outcomes such as a decrease in the supply of essential goods or services.
Price controls come in two types: price ceilings, which keep prices from rising above a specified point, and price floors, which keep prices from dropping below a specified level. These mechanisms are typically analyzed within the demand and supply framework to understand their impact on the market.