BACKGROUND
INFORMATION I THE
BOOKS I WESTLAW
I LEXIS
І VLS Subscription Databases I THE
INTERNET – CFR and Federal Register І The
Internet - AGENCY and SPECIALIZED SITES
BACKGROUND INFORMATION / GETTING STARTED
The National
Archives and Records Administration
A variety
of useful links.
Federal Register (and CFR) Online Tutorial
http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/tutorial/
The Unified Agenda
Summarizes the rules and proposed rules that
each federal agency expects to issue during the next six months.
The United States Government Manual in paper - (Ref JK/421/A3)
and http://www.gpoaccess.gov/gmanual/index.html
Contains comprehensive
information on the agencies of the federal legislative, judicial and executive
branches.
CeRI: Cornell
e-Rulemaking Initiative
http://ceri.law.cornell.edu/
A collaborative effort of Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute
and various partners, including the Environmental Protection Agency, to improve
access to rule-making information.
Many books in the Library dealing with
Administrative Law.
THE BOOKS
Code of
Federal Regulations
The Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) is the codification of the general and permanent
rules of the Executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government
originally published in the Federal Register.
Composed of 50 titles representing broad subject areas.
1972-1979 - in paper in storage area behind fireplace in the
Community Center.
1980 to date - microfiche - Library Parking Lot Level.
Current volumes - in paper - Campus Level- on
back side of first bookshelf of stacks area.
The authority
citation to the enabling legislation in the U.S.Code
is listed in the CFR following the table of contents for each part.
The source citation which specifies where in the
Federal Register the codified document
was first officially published and is printed in its entirety is also given in
the CFR, normally following the authority citation.
Updated/revised annually, incorporating the
regulations promulgated during the preceding 12 months and deleting those
revoked.
The CFR also includes executive orders and
proclamations in Title 3 of the CFR.
CFR Index
Arranged by subjects and by agency names - covers regulations
which are currently in the CFR.
Provides citations to parts
rather than sections, so not always as specific as you'd like. The table of contents included at the
beginning of each Part or the agency-prepared indexes in the individual CFR
volumes are useful.
Includes a parallel table of authorities and rules - useful tables which refer
you to a CFR cite from a U.S.Code, Statutes at Large, or Public Law cite.
USCA ,and USCS
(especially) provide references to the CFR from enabling statutes.
To Update the
CFR:
Check The List of Sections Affected (LSA) which
covers all affected rules published in the Federal Register since the last
revision of the CFR.
Check the
following Federal Registers issued since the latest LSA:
last day of each month - in the CFR Sections Affected
section at the end of each Federal Register
AND
last
day available for the current month - again, in the CFR Sections Affected section at the end of
each Federal Register
Read the
updates in the daily Federal Register.
The Federal
Register
1936 to date - on microfiche
on the Parking Lot Level of the Library.
The most
recent issues are in paper on the Campus Level.
Each daily issue contains the text of Rules
and Regulations, Proposed Rules, Notices (documents not concerned with
rule-making proceedings, such as announcements of application deadlines or
license revocations), Notices of
Sunshine Act Meetings (public announcements of agency meetings), and
Presidential documents (proclamations, executive orders, and other executive
documents), and a CFR Parts Affected Section for the current month.
Contact
people (agency employees) and phone numbers are often listed.
An Annual Index (which you don’t need if you
are using the Federal Register to update a specific CFR cite) is arranged by agency name,
document-type (rules, proposed rules, etc.), and then by subject.
Agency Decisions
The library has some, but
not all agency decisions. Search by individual agency on Julien.
State Regulations:
State regulations are
published under a number of different titles such as Code of Vermont Rules.
The CFR database
Incorporates recent changes that appear in the Federal
Register within days.
Prior
versions of the CFR are available back to 1984.
Click on TOC in the left
frame to see your regulation in context and to quickly link to related
regulations.
Source information: In the Regulations Plus area on the left - Administrative
> FR References.
Authority information: In the Regulations Plus area on the left - Statutes > Authority.
Topical Practice Areas > Environmental Law
> Federal Administrative Materials
~OR~
Code of Federal Regulations Organized by
Area of Practice > Environmental Law (for related databases)
Federal Regulation Tracking
Summaries
and status information concerning pending and recently-adopted federal
regulations.
The Federal Register database
Back to
1980. Updated daily. A
document is a rule or regulation, a proposed rule, an item appearing in the
Unified Agenda or a notice.
Use to find recent regulations that update your CFR citation. Update example: "40 cfr"
& 60.33b.
Other Administrative and Executive Materials
Agency Decisions
Westlaw Directory >
They
are also listed in the Regulations Plus area for specific regulations.
KeyCite
Provides links to court
opinions, law review articles, etc. that have cited your regulation.
State Regulations
Some,
but not all state regulations are available on WESTLAW.
CFR database
Incorporates
recent changes that appear in the Federal Register within days.
Click on TOC to see your regulation in context and
to quickly link to related regulations.
Prior
versions of the CFR are available back to 1981.
For Authority and Source information: Use GET
A DOCUMENT to locate the beginning of your Part. Example: GET A DOCUMENT 40 cfr 60
Research System > Legal > Area of Law -
By Topic > Environment >Administrative Materials & Regulations >
Federal (for
related databases)
Federal Register
Back to
1980. Updated daily. A
document is a rule or regulation, a proposed rule, an item appearing in the
Unified Agenda or a notice.
Use to find recent regulations that update your CFR citation. Example: 40 and 60.33b
Agency Decisions
Federal Legal -
Shepard’s
Links to court opinions,
law review articles, etc. that have cited your regulation.
State Regulations
Some,
but not all, state regulations are available on LEXIS.
VLS
SUBSCRIPTION DATABASES
Contains older versions of
the CFR, 1938 -
1983, and the Federal Register from it’s first issue in 1936 through 2006.
ELI Environmental Law Reporter
The Environmental Law Institute pulls
together many documents, including administrative, dealing with the
environment.
Daily news with archive, often with
links to primary sources.
News archive of environment
and energy stories, often with links to primary sources.
THE INTERNET (free sites) - CFR and Federal Register
CFR Through GPO
Access - Beta Version
The data found on e-CFR is as up-to-date
as you’ll find anywhere.
CFR Through GPO Access
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr/index.html
As up to date as the book versions (i.e., not very!)Always
note date of currency.
Update
your CFR cite, using: List of Sections Affected
Prior
versions of the CFR are available back to 1997.
Federal Register Through GPO Access
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html/
Goes back to 1995. Updated daily.
You must use this to find the text of
any updates to
regulations you find in the CFR. To
update CFR citations directly in the Federal Register: Update example: “16 cfr” AND
“309"
http://regulations.justia.com
Allows you to
search the Federal Register, and track the results you find. You can search by
specific agency or across all of them, and receive PDF versions of the regulations.
You can also subscribe to an RSS feed for any search you create, to keep track
of new regulations.
Cornell Legal Information
Institute’s Code of Federal Regulations
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/cfr/
Search engine designed by Cornell’s
Legal Information Institute for easier access to the Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR). Links to the official version of the CFR. Pay attention to
currency. Update your CFR cite in the Federal Register.
State regulations:
Some state web sites have regulations
available. Sources that link to state sites:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/ http://www.findlaw.com/#
The INTERNET (free sites) -
Agency and other Specialized
Sites
AGENCY WEB SITES !
http://www.lib.lsu.edu/gov/fedgov.html
Links to agency web sites. Developed by the
Libraries of Louisiana State University in association with the Government
Printing Office.
Federal
Administrative Decisions & Other Actions
http://lib.virginia.edu/govdocs/fed_decisions_agency.html
One of the most
extensive listings of administrative decisions on the web.
REGULATIONS.GOV
“The public face of the government's eRulemaking Initiative, facilitates participation in the federal regulatory
process by improving the ability to find, view, and comment on federal
regulatory actions.”
The
Regulatory Group, Inc.
Includes an impressive collection of research links and a glossary
of regulatory terms.
Links to regulations codified in
Title 40: Protection of Environment. Proposed regulations,
Federal Register, dockets, future regulatory agenda.
The EPA Office of
Administrative Law Judges
Includes ALJ Decisions and Orders and links to EPA Environmental Appeals Board Decisions.
The EPA Office of
Policy, Economics and Innovation
The primary policy arm of EPA, working “with all other
parts of EPA and the federal government to provide critical analytic and
management support across three broad areas, including regulatory
management.