Last updated: January 25, 2001
For a general overview of legal resources available, see Law (General). See also the guide for Law (Cases). In addition to resources in paper format, there are electronic resources available. See the partial listing at the end of this guide.| Federal
Laws |
State
Laws |
Electronic
Resources |
Proposed legislation is introduced in Congress in the form of a bill. It is easiest to find the text of a bill if you have a bill number. You can check the Congressional Index (REF. KF 49 .C6) by subject to find a bill number. This index also will tell you the status of a bill--what committee it was sent to, whether it passed and was signed into law, as well as the effective date.
An OhioLINK database, Congressional Universe, includes text and status of federal bills as well as legislative activity and is an excellent online source for identifying proposed legislation.
The CIS Index, found in the Documents Area, can help you locate hearings, reports, and other documents relating to Congressional bills from the early 1970's to date.
GPO Access is a federally funded database which provides free, public access to the full-text of bills introduced since the 103rd Congress. It is searchable by subject or by bill number.
See also the sources listed under Electronic Resources at the end of this guide.
Laws
There are several ways to find the text of laws, depending on how much information you have. If you know the name of the act or law (e.g. Civil Rights Act of 1964; Clean Air Act; Endangered Species Act) you can check the following to find a citation. These sources will give you a Public Law (P.L.) number, a reference to the United States Statutes at Large (Stat.), and the appropriate United States Code (U.S.C.) citation:
Shepard's Acts and Cases by Popular Names(Ref. KF 90 .S52)
"Popular Name Index" of the U.S. Code and its supplements (Ref. KF 62 [yr.] .A2).
Laws passed by Congress are first received in the library as individual pamphlets known as slip laws. Each law is assigned a Public Law (P.L.) number which currently consists of the Congress and numerical designation. Thus, P.L. 104-372 refers to the 372nd law passed by the 104th Congress. We keep the slip laws of the latest two Congresses (approximately four years' worth) in the Government Documents collection under the classification AE 2.110: (followed by the public law number). Slip laws are now available online through GPO Access.
Each year the slip laws are
compiled and published as:
United States Statutes
at Large (KF 50 .U52)
A subject, or codified, approach to these laws is published every six years as the United States Code (U.S.C.) and is supplemented annually. The most current edition of this set is shelved in the Reference Collection under Ref. KF 62 [year] .A2.
The aforementioned publications are official publications, that is, they are published by the U.S. government. Occasionally, private publishers provide access to the law. We have two additional versions of the U.S. Code provided by private publishers:
United States Code Service (U.S.C.S.)(KF 62 1972 .L38) Pamphlet supplements keep this set updated to within two months of enactments.
See also the sources listed under Electronic Resources at the end of this guide.
State laws follow a similar pattern to the federal.
The National Survey of State Laws (Ref. KF 336 .N38) gives summaries of the laws of each state.
There are numerous sites on the World Wide Web for state and local law. See the sources listed under Electronic Resources at the end of this guide for a partial listing.
To find a bill number, the status of a bill, or recently passed legislation, consult Baldwin's Ohio Legislative Service, (Ref. KFO 15 .B34). We receive selected Ohio bills in the Government Documents section. However, an OhioLINK database, Ohio Capitol Connection, contains the full text of current bills and legislation. Access to OhioLINK databases is restricted to faculty, staff, students and registered borrowers of the library.
Additionally, you may obtain a copy of a bill from your state representative or state senator, or from the Ohio General Assembly web site.
Laws passed by the General Assembly are codified each year into the Ohio Revised Code. Our library has two versions of the Code:
OhioLINK databases are restricted to current faculty, staff and students of OhioLINK member institutions. Local access only.
Congressional Universe. (federal legislation)
Education Abstracts. An electronic version of the printed Education Index. Author, title and subject index to over 400 educational periodicals, yearbooks and book series since 1983. Includes references to School Law.
Index to Legal Periodicals and Books. Gives references to literature on law (1981--date).
Lexis-Nexis Universe. A full text database including legal news, state and federal legislation, and state and federal court cases.
A Matter of Fact. References from over 800 sources including journals and government documents on political, health and population issues.
PAIS Database. An international database providing references to the literature on government, public policy and public affairs.
Periodical Abstracts. References to articles from general periodicals including popular magazines and professional journals in all subject areas.
Newspaper Abstracts 1989-present or segments: 1997-Present ; 1989-1996. References to articles in over 30 newspapers nationwide, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and Wall Street Journal from 1989 to date.
Ohio Capitol Connection. Contains Ohio legislation (bills and enactments), the Ohio Administrative Code and legislative information.
There are numerous resources available on the World Wide Web. See Maag's Government Documents homepage under the sections :
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Last updated: January 25,
2001