MSOLAR: Federal law

For inquiries about current or recent Congressional activity, the best single source is THOMAS, a Web site supported by the Library of Congress. You may wish to explore it on your own.

If you would rather follow some directed questions, read on.

MSOLAR asks: "Do you have a United States Code citation, a Statutes at Large citation, or a Public Law number for the law?"

If you DO have a citation, click here.
If you want to know more about these citations, click here.
If you do NOT have a citation, continue and read the next question:

MSOLAR asks: "Do you know the year in which the law was passed?"

If you know the year and it is 1993 or later, click here.
If you know the year and it is earlier than 1993, click here.
If you are unsure of the year, click here.

An explanation of United States Code, Statutes at Large and Public Law number citations

During your research so far, you may have come across something like the following concise "legislative history" of a recent law. If you recognize one or more of the highlighted formulas in asummary like this, you may be able to locate the text of a law quickly.

Vegetable Ink Printing Act of 1994

October 6, 1994

Public Law (P. L.) 103-348, approved Oct. 6, 1994. (S. 716)

108 Stat. 3133

"To require that all Federal lithographic printing be performed using ink made from vegetable oil and materials derived from other renewable resources, and for other purposes."

44 USC 501

Public Law numbers: Each elected Congress sits for two annual sessions. For example, the 103rd Congress was in office during 1993 and 1994. As "bills" are passed into law (as "acts") during each Congress, they are given Public Law numbers, in order. In this kind of citation, the first number indicates the Congress, and the second number identifies the specific act. Thus P. L. 103-348 was the 348th law passed by the 103rd Congress.

Statutes at Large citations: After new acts are passed, they are collected and published in order in the multi-volume Statutes at Large series. In this kind of citation, the first number is a volume number, and the second number is a page number. Thus the text of this law begins on page 3,133 in Volume 108 of Statutes at Large.

United States Code citations: Federal laws are also published in the multi-volume U. S. Code set, where laws on related subjects appear in one or more volumes covering a "Title" (or topic). In this kind of citation, the first number is the Title, and the second number is a chapter number. Thus, the text of this law is located in chapter 501 in Title 44 of the U. S. Code, dealing with public printing and documents.

For a general explanation of how a bill becomes a law, click here.

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This page written on 14 November1996; updated 7 January 1998.

URL=http://www.lib.msu.edu/sowards/msolar/201.htm