Congressional Research Resources: Public Laws and Amendments
When a bill is signed into law, it is officially known henceforth as a "Public Law." Public Laws appear in three publication series: Slip Laws: traditionally, a printed public law has been known as a slip law from the time it first appeared to the time it was incorporated in the United States Statutes at Large. Due to electronic access, this terminology is somewhat archaic.
United States Statutes at Large: Beginning with 1789 and continuing today, this publication provides access to texts of all laws as of the initial enactment.
United States Code: this publication includes all laws still in force. It is arranged into fifty subjects, known officially as "titles." Different portions of a Public Law can appear in different titles.
Public Laws have two citations, used interchangeably:
PL 107-314 (this citation shows the number of the Congress and the
number of the law.)
116 Stat 2458 (this citation shows the volume and page in the
Statutes at Large.)
United States Code citations appear thusly:
16 USC ss1131 (this citation shows the title and the paragraph number.)
Searching this citation in the United States Code also retrieves the
Public Law citations.
- Slip Laws via GPOAccess
Path: Legislative Resources/Public and Private Laws. Includes 1995 to the present in PDF. - Slip Laws via
LEXIS-NEXIS Congressional [CSU users only]
Searchable by keyword or by bill number (use "Get a Document"). Includes 1988 to the present. - Slip Laws (print version) AE2:110 Law/Tax
The most recent Slip Laws are shelved following the Statutes at Large.
- United States Statutes at Large. AE2.111
Law/Tax
Includes 1789 to the most recently published volume. Note that the Slip Law resources listed above are, in effect, an extension of the Statutes at Large. - United States Statutes at Large via
A Century of
Lawmaking
Browsable text for 1789 through 1875. - United
States Statutes at Large (GPO Access)
From the 108th Congress (2003-2004) forward.
- United States Code Service via
LEXIS-NEXIS Congressional [CSU users only]
Path: Legislative Histories, Bills & Laws/US Code. Includes legal annotations. Sometimes more up-to-date than the official version. - United States Code via
GPOAccess
The official version. Lacks legal annotations and unified searching of editions. - United States Code Annotated KF62 1927 .W45
Law/Tax
Includes legal annotations. Individual volumes are updated with pocket parts. Sometimes more up-to-date than the official version.
Amendments to Public Laws:
Public Laws are subject to amendment by other Public Laws later in time. Significant Public Laws may be amended repeatedly.- United States Code Annotated Popular Name Table.
KF62 1927 .W4543 Law/Tax
This volume is easily the best source for listings of citations to amendments. It is shelved with the index volumes of the United States Code Annotated. The arrangement is by popular names of Public Laws. - Shepard's Acts and Cases by Popular Names. K .S53
1999 Ref
A three volume set, arranged by popular name. State acts are also included. - Popular
Names of Acts in the US Code (Cornell University)
Less thorough than the print sources described above.
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