statutes, regulations and federal legislative research

Statutes, Regulations and Federal Legislative Research Start Your Research by Finding the Relevant Statute(s)Searching for relevant statutes in any Code source, including the U. S. Code, is easy using either one or both of the following efficient search strategies.

1. Browse through the Table of Contents, clicking the (plus sign) to explore on-point titles and subtopics to identify the relevant code section(s).

Note: Upon accessing this source, if you are taken to the Advanced Search form, click the Browse TOC link, next to the Search button, to view the Table of Contents search form.

2. Search for specific phrases or terms within either the full text of the code or just the Table of Contents headings.

When you have a particular issue, it is typically faster to search the Code for relevant statutory sections instead of trying to browse, especially if you are unfamiliar with the broader topics or titles the issue may fall under.

To learn more about constructing a search with terms and connectors, refer to the Advanced Research on LexisNexis section.

Book Browse allows you to view preceding and succeeding code sections of a statute without constructing another search.

Use the links provided in the Practitioner’s Toolbox to navigate to other segments within the code section, as well as other relevant primary and secondary resources.

1. From the Legal tab, select Federal Legal – U.S. > United States Code Service – Titles 1 through 50

2. Scroll through the Table of Contents (TOC) and click the box next to the title that relates to your issue (e.g., Title 42). Above the TOC, a checkmark automatically appears in the box beside Search Selected Only.

3. Type your search terms in the open field at the top of the TOC template (e.g., discrimin! /15 disability or disabled /10 employ! or work or job).

4. Make sure the radio button is selected for Terms and Connectors.

5. Below the search terms field, choose the radio button to search within the Full-text of source documents

6. Click

Link to archived Code material and Public Laws.

You can quickly and easily find cases that interpret or discuss a statute with two research options:

More Like Selected Text Shepard’s® Citations Service

Statutes, Regulations, and Federal Legislative Research - LexisNexis®

Find cases or law review articles that discuss a specific statute using Shepard’s Citations Service

5. Click FOCUS™ – Restrict By at the top of the page and use the Custom Restrictions to narrow your results to specific jurisdictions, analyses, and dates.

6. Click checkboxes to select restrictions.

7. Click Apply.

Once you have a statute that is on point, you can use Shepard’s Citations Service to determine its precedential value and to find more cases, annotations and law review articles that have cited this section.

Statutes and Regulations, as well as Court Rules, can be Shepardized™ by parent section (e.g., 42 USCS 12101) or any specific subsection (42 USCS 12101(b)(2))

1. Click the Shepard’s tab.

2. Enter the citation in the open field (e.g., 42 uscs 12101).

3. Make sure the Shepard’s for Research (FULL) radio button is selected.

4. Click Check

Click Unrestricted at any time to return to the full Shepard’s report.

Find cases or law review articles that discuss a specific statute using More Like Selected Text1. While reviewing your statute, highlight the text that

you would like to see in subsequent cases (e.g., 42 USCS 12101, Subsection b, (2), to provide clear, strong and consistent enforceable standards addressing discrimination against individuals with disabilities) and click More Like Selected Text. This will provide you with cases that use similar language as the statute, citing to the statute and its issues.

2. Click More Like Selected Text.3. Select your source from the drop-down menu in

the list of Recently Used sources (e.g., Federal Cases, Combined Courts). If the source you need is not listed, click more sources to select from your full complement of available sources.

4. Click

To achieve the best results with the More Like Selected Text feature, highlight only one or two sentences from your original document. Too much highlighted text will lead to an ineffective search.


Federal Legislative History: How a Bill becomes a Law Legislative history begins when a bill is introduced and continues through enactment and subsequent amendments.

The introduction of a bill can take place in either the House of Representatives or the Senate.

In the following example, the House of Representatives is used as the place of introduction of the bill. However, a bill also follows the same process when introduced in the Senate:

Legislative Stages Document Generated Find the Document

1. An idea is introduced in the House. This idea is structured in a bill format. 2. The bill is assigned a bill number and Full-text bill To find the full text of a bill by then assigned to a committee within Congress often changes its citation: the House for consideration and the language of a bill after 1. Select Get a Document modification. introduction. by Citation. 2. Type the citation, e.g., The multiple versions of a bill 101 s 933. indicate Congress’s intent. 3. Click et 3. The bill is then sent to a subcommittee Bill Tracking Report To find a bill tracking report for markup and alterations. Provides a chronological by its citation: history of a bill through 1. Select Get a Document a particular session by Citation. of Congress. 2. Type the citation, e.g., 101 bill tracking s 933. 3. Click

4. If the bill is voted on and Congressional Hearing To find written transcripts of passed by the subcommittee, Transcripts Congressional hearings: it returns to the full committee Congress convenes hearings 1. Select a source, e.g., for consideration. Otherwise, to solicit bipartisan support, Legal > Legislation & the bill is terminated at the establish need and build Politics – U.S. & U.K. > subcommittee level. consensus on a particular bill. U.S. Congress Committee Hearing Transcripts > Federal Document Clearing House Congressional Hearings Summaries.

2. Type your search request, e.g., eeoc and enforce! /5 american disability. 3. Click



5. If voted upon and passed in the full Floor Actions and Debate To find transcripts of activities, committee, the bill then goes to the Proceedings debates, Extension of House floor for further consideration, The Congressional Record Remarks, and daily summaries debate and possibly a vote. contains the daily, verbatim, of proceedings on the floor official report of the debates of the House and Senate and proceedings of Congress regarding an issue in a bill: in session. 1. Select a source, e.g., Legal > Legislation & Assists in determining Politics – U.S. & U.K. > U.S. Congressional intent. h Congress > Congressional Record, All Congresses Combined. 2. Type your search request, e.g., veteran /25 american disabilities. 3. Click 6. If the bill is voted upon by the Committee Report To find a conference report House and passes, it then goes details a bill’s progress in by the name of the bill: to the Senate and follows the committee, sent after 1. Select a source, e.g., same process. differences on provisions Legal > Federal Legal passed by both chambers. – U.S. > Legislative Histories & Materials > Committee Reports. If the bill is voted on by the House 2. Type your search request, and does not pass, it is usually e.g., title (american considered dead. In order for the disabilities). bill to be debated and voted on 3. Click again, the bill must be reintroduced. To find a conference report by the bill number: 1. Use the same source path from the previous example. 2. Type your search request, e.g., rpt# (101-485). 3. Click



7. A bill has to be voted on and Enrolled Version To find the enrolled version passed by both houses of of the Bill of a bill from the 101st Congress: Congress before the bill can Represents Congress’s final 1. Select a source, e.g., be sent to the President for version in the House and Legal > Federal Legal – U.S. > his signature which will make the Senate. Archived Bill Text & Tracking the bill a new law. > Congressional Full Text Bills – 101st Congress, Archive. 2. Type your search request, e.g., heading (enrolled) and american disabilities. 3. Click

8. If the bill is signed by the President, The President’s To find the Public Papers it becomes a Public Law and is Statement is appended of the Presidents for then codified. when the President is vetoing statements on a bill: or signing a bill into law. 1. Select a source, e.g., Legislation & Politics – U.S. If the bill is not signed by the & U.K. > U.S. Executive President, it will be considered Branch (Non-Legal) > vetoed. It returns to Congress Public Papers of the and needs a vote of two-thirds Presidents. majority to override the veto and 2. Type your search become law. Alternatively, it can request, e.g., headline be reintroduced as a new bill. (american disabilities). 3. Click


Public Laws Public laws are the first official

publication of statutes.

Public laws contain: a heading with the public or private law number, date of approval, bill number, legislative history of the law, and the U.S. Statutes At Large citation number (only for public laws).

How are Public Laws numbered?Since 1957, a unique pre-determined numbering scheme has been used to create Public Law citations. The first number indicates the Congressional session that enacted the law, while the second number indicates the number of the law in sequence passed by that session of Congress. For example, PL 77-278 would be the 278th law enacted by the 77th Congress. Before 1957, laws enacted during each Congress were assigned Chapter numbers.

You can link to the various full-text versions of the bill, as well as the bill tracking report and the CIS Legislative History Document by clicking on the appropriate underlined document title(s).

Public laws may also contain a statement of indication (rather than the customary approval) if passed over a President’s veto or if the statute became law without the President’s signature.

Public laws are prepared by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration. This office provides marginal editorial notes that provide citations to laws referenced in the text. Marginal notes are also given to the U.S. Code classifications so that you can quickly see where the statutes appear in the Code.

Find a public law when you know the citation1. Select Get a Document by

Citation. 2. Type the public law citation in

the open field of the template (e.g., 101 pl 336).

3. Click


U.S. Code Service Citations to Commonly Referenced ActsPopular Name U.S.C.S. Citation Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) 42 USCS 12101

Clean Air Act 42 USCS 7401

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation & Liability Act (CERCLA) and/or Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) 42 USCS 9601

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Amendments Act of 1982 28 USCS 2071

Glass Steagall (Banking Act of 1933) 12 USCS 64a, 12 USCS 378, 12 USCS 221a, 12 USCS 378a, 12 USCS 78, 12 USCS 71a

Internal Revenue Code 26 USCS 1

Lanham Trademark Act of 1946 15 USCS 1051

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) 19 USCS 3301

Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) 18 USCS 1961 – 1968

Securities Act of 1933 15 USCS 77a

U.S. Copyright Act 17 USCS 109

Find a Public Law using the United States Code Service Table of Acts by Popular Names

+

The U.S.C.S. Table of Acts by Popular Names displays online as a table of contents. You can search the table of contents by using the popular name or by clicking the beside the desired level.

To find a public law by its popular name: 1. Select the source, Legal > Federal Legal – U.S. >

United States Code Service (USCS) Materials > USCS – Popular Name Table.

2. Indicate the type of search, Terms and Connectors or Natural Language.

3. Type your search terms in the open field, e.g., american disabilities.

4. Click the radio button at Search: Table of Contents (TOC) only.

5. Click


Find a list of statutes for a specific session of Congress1. Select the USCS Statutes at Large source: Legal >

Federal Legal - U.S. > United States Code Service (USCS) Materials > USCS - Statutes at Large Table.

2. Click New Search at the top of the page.

3. Type your search terms in the open field (e.g., cite(uscs stat table 102) to retrieve the table for the Acts of the 102nd Congress).

4. Make sure the radio button for Terms and Connectors is selected.

5. Click Search

Find a Statute at Large by citation1. Select Get a Document by Citation.

2. Type the citation in the open field (e.g., 104 stat 327).

3. Make sure the Full Text radio button is selected.

4. Click Get

Note: Presidential Proclamations, Private Laws, Resolutions, and Reorganization Plans can also be retrieved by Statutes at Large citations.

Use the links in Statutes at Large documents to see amending laws. For laws enacted after 1987, you can retrieve the full text of the corresponding Public Law from the Statutes at Large document as well.

Document 114 in the Statutes at Large Table lists the Proclamations that are found in the U.S. Code Service and the Executive Orders that implement general and permanent law as set forth in the U.S. Code Service.

Statutes at Large

To find Statutes at Large abbreviations and explanations on the LexisNexis services, click the for the Statutes at Large source description.

Statutes at Large are a chronological and permanent collection of the laws enacted in each session of Congress. Each bound volume contains public laws and treaties as they appeared in the official publications of the U.S. Congress (including all public laws from 1789 to present, treaties with Indian tribes from 1778 to 1873, and treaties with foreign nations from 1776 to 1950).

Since 1975, each law incorporates a legislative history of the law into the text of the document (at the end). From 1963 to 1974, each Statutes at Large volume contains a table of legislative history for all laws in the volume.

Statutes at Large are prepared by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration.


Statutes at Large Abbreviations and Explanations

Added Indicates when new Redes. Redesignation legislation has added a section to a prior existing Act other than a Positive Law Title or Title 26

Appn. Appropriation Redes.* New legislation redesignating part of a prior existing act without affecting code classification

Appx. Appendix; legislation of Repeat Indicates when a a local nature particular provision already appearing in the U.S. Code or a note thereto has been repeated

Art. Article R.S. Revised Statues of 1878

C., Ch. Or Chap. Chapter Spec. Special Act

D.C. District of Columbia Stat. Statutes at Large

Div. Division Subch. Subchapter

Eff. Effective Date Subdiv. Subdivision

Elim. Eliminated Super. Supersedure

I.R.C. Internal Revenue Code Temp. Temporary (USCS Title 26)

New Indicates that legislation Term. Terminated (other than an addition to a prior existing Act of Positive Law Title or Title 26) has been classified to a previously non-existing Code section or note

P.L. Public Law Trans. Transferred

Pub. R. Public Resolution Unclass. Unclassified

Rpld. Repealed

*The Table of Revised Titles shows the disposition of the Code Titles that have been repealed and reenacted into positive law.


The United States Code The U. S. Code source on LexisNexis contains the

statutory code for the United States as published in the compilation entitled United States Code Service. It includes all laws of a general and permanent nature as enacted by the United States Congress.

The United States Code presents the general and permanent laws of the United States in a succinct and highly functional format of 50 titles.

The U.S. Code contains the current status of laws as amended, arranged in alphabetical order by the subject matter of the title headings.

The U.S. Code is prepared by the Law Revision Counsel of the House of Representatives. A new edition of the U.S. Code is published every six years and cumulative supplements are published after each regular congressional session ends.

Note: LexisNexis defines each section of the U.S. Code as an individual document.


Find a U.S. Code section when you know the citation1. Select Get a Document by Citation.

2. Type your citation in the open field of the template (e.g., 42 uscs 12101).

3. Make sure the Full Text radio button is selected.

4. Click

Use segments to search for specific U.S. Code information Segments are natural parts or divisions within a document. Common segments available when searching the U.S. Code include:

Segment Contains

Casenotes The notes of the decision. Cite The citation of the Code Section. Heading The number and name of the topic under which the document has been organized. History The history of the code section. Notes All notes pertaining to the code section. Section The number and caption of the code section. Status Any statute section that has been affected by newly enacted legislation that has not yet been incorporated into the U.S. Code will have a Status section. This segment cites the Public Law that affects the code section. Text The text of the code section.

For more information on using segments in research requests, refer to the Advanced Research section.

The Code of Federal Regulations The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) is the

codification of the general and permanent rules and regulations published originally in the Federal Register by executive departments and agencies of the federal government.

Generally, all adopted rules and regulations are integrated and available in the CFR within two weeks after being published in the Federal Register.

The CFR titles mirror the United States Code Service titles.


The expandable Table of Contents makes it easy to navigate through federal and state codes, legal treatises and other secondary materials. You have the option to run a full-text search or navigate through the Table of Contents.

Expandable/collapsible hierarchy — click the + to expand the TOC to see subchapters, within each title.

TOC Display — link to the TOC from the text of a document by clicking on the TOC link in the upper left corner of the screen.

Trail links — jump to a particular TOC level with one of the links that show in your hierarchical path.

Find Regulations on a Specific TopicTo find regulations under a specific title or promulgated by a particular agency on a specific piece of legislation, e.g., Department of Housing and Urban Development regulations regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act:

1. Select the Code of Federal Regulations source: Legal > Federal Legal – U.S. > CFR Code of Federal Regulations

2. Scroll through the Table of Contents to locate the desired title and/or agency (e.g., Title 24, Housing and Urban Development).

3. Click on checkbox(es) to select the appropriate title(s) or agencies. A checkmark automatically appears in the box for Search Selected Only at the top of the Table of Contents.

4. Type your search terms in the open field (e.g., american disabilities act).

5. Make sure the radio button for Terms and Connectors is selected.

6. Choose to Search: Full-text of source documents.

7. Click

The Federal Register The Federal Register is the official vehicle notifying

the public of the regulations and legal notices issued by the federal agencies and departments.

Documents appearing in the Federal Register include federal agency regulations (proposed, temporary, amended and final) that have general applicability and legal effect, documents that are required to be published by act of Congress, federal agency documents of public interest, meeting notices and Presidential proclamations and executive orders.

Find Federal Register documents

To find documents in the Federal Register that affect a CFR section, e.g., 14 CFR Part 382 :

1. Select the Federal Register source: Legal > Federal Legal – U.S. > FR - Federal Register

2. Type your search terms in the open field, e.g., cfr (14 and 382!).

3. Make sure the Terms and Connectors radio button is selected.

4. Click

Note: The CFR segment allows you to monitor changes to specific titles and parts of Code of Federal Regulations by identifying agency documents published in the Federal Register impacting those topics. For more information on using segments in research requests, refer to the Advanced Research section.

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