How to Find a U.S. Federal Law
Public Laws and Private Laws. Online:
Full-text for Public and Private Laws is available on GPO Access (http://www.gpoaccess.gov/plaws/index.html) for the years 1995/96 (104 th Congress) to the present.
THOMAS (http://thomas.loc.gov/) offers Public Laws in full-text for the years 1973/74 (93 rd Congress) to the present.
Public Laws and Private Laws. Full-text in paper & Microfilm:
Full-text, in paper, is available in the United States Statutes at Large (REF. KF 50 .U52), which is shelved in the Reference Collection of the Paul Meek Library. Our printed holdings of this title cover the years 1973 (93 rd Congress) to the present.
Historical full-text of the Statutes at Large is available for the years 1789 (1 st Congress) through 1972 ( 92 nd Congress) on microfilm in the Media Center of the Paul Meek Library.
U.S. Senate and House of Representatives Bills & Resolutions. Online:
Full-text of Bills and Resolutions is available on THOMAS (http://thomas.loc.gov/) from 1989 (101 st Congress) to the present. GPO Access (http://www.gpoaccess.gov/ bills/index.html) contains the text of all published Bills and Resolutions from 1993 (103 rd Congress) to date.
The Paul Meek Library does not maintain a collection of Bills & Resolutions in either paper or microfilm formats.
Legislative Histories. Online.
Congressional committee documents which explain the background, history and purpose of legislation can be accessed online through GPO Access (http://www.gpoaccess.gov/hob/index.html ) under “History of Bills”. GPO Access contains the History of Bills from 1983 to the present. Click on “Search Tips” on the “History of Bills” Main Page for instructions on searching this database.
Legislative histories in paper can be found in the United States Code Congressional and Administrative News (REF. KF 63 .U56X). This publication is kept in the Reference Collection of the Library. The News contains Legislative Histories referenced under the laws to which they pertain. It also contains Public Laws, Executive Orders and Proclamations. The Paul Meek Library’s holdings of the News begin with the 96 th Congress (1980) and continue through 2005.
Federal Codes and the Federal Register. Online.
United States Code is the current official compilation by subject of the “public, general and permanent laws of the United States in force.” This code can be accessed through GPO Access (http://www.gpoaccess.gov/uscode/index.html ) and through THOMAS (http://thomas.loc.gov/), or http://uscode.house.gov/. The United States Code Annotated (privately published and contains annotations provided by the publisher), is available through Westlaw Campus Research and LEXIS-NEXIS Academic Universe, a law database, also has the United States Code online.
Federal Register is available online through GPO Access (http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html). The Federal Register is the official daily publication of regulations and legal notices issued by federal agencies and organizations. It also contains Presidential Proclamations and Executive Orders and federal agency documents having general applicability and legal effect. It also publishes documents required to be published by act of Congress, and other federal agency documents of public interest. Paper copies of the Federal Register are also available in the Paul Meek Library. They are received daily and are filed in Reference Bookstack # 17.
Code of Federal Regulations is available online through (http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr/index.html). The Code of Federal Regulations is the codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register (see above) by the executive departments and agencies of the federal government. The Code is kept up to date by the individual issues of the Federal Register. Paper copies of the Code of Federal Regulations are available in the Paul Meek Library. They are filed in Reference Bookstack #17
.
Other Federal Legislative materials.
Other legislative materials can be accessed on GPO Access by going to http://www.gpoaccess.gov/legislative.html. Another source for legislative materials is THOMAS:Legislative Information on the Internet (http://thomas.loc.gov/).
General Federal Government Sources: Executive, Judicial, Legislative Branches, and Agencies.
Other Federal Government sources which can be accessed via links through GPO Access can be found on GPO Access Online Resources: A-Z Resource List (http://www.gpoaccess.gov/databases.html).
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