Regulations are administrative rules issued by governmental agencies at the federal, state, county and municipal levels. Regulations have the force of law because they are created and adopted under authority granted by statutes.
To create a binding regulation, an agency typically issues a proposed regulation, holds public hearings, and accepts public comment before ultimately issuing a binding final regulation.
FINDING FEDERAL REGULATIONS
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
The Code of Federal Regulations is the official compilation of all federal regulations currently in force. The CFR codifies the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by agencies of the Federal Government. It is divided into 50 titles that represent general topic areas subject to Federal regulation. Each title is divided into chapters which usually indicate the name of the issuing agency. Chapters are divided into parts which cover specific areas of regulation.
Each printed volume of the CFR is updated once each calendar year and is issued on a quarterly basis.
*It is important to note that the permanent regulations in the CFR may be affected by new regulations or amendments. Because of this, the Federal Register (see section below explaining the Federal Register), which is published on a daily basis, should be used to monitor any amendments or changes to the CFR.
Tarlton Law Library Location for the CFR: Second floor, Stack 220; Fifth floor, Stack 541
Searching by citation
The elements of a federal regulation citation in the Code of Federal Regulations are:
1. Title number
2. Source abbreviation (C.F.R. for Code of Federal Regulations)
3. Section number
4. Date (year)For example, for the citation 27 C.F.R. § 478.34 (2005):
1. "27" is the title number within the Code of Federal Regulations.
2. "C.F.R." is the abbreviation for the Code of Federal Regulations.
3. "§ 478.34" is the section of Title 27 in which the text of the relevant regulation can be found.
4. "2005" indicates the year of publication of the volume of the CFR in which the regulation was found.Searching without a citation
CFR Indexes and Tabular Guides
A general subject index to the entire Code of Federal Regulations can be found in a separate volume entitled CFR Index and Finding Aids . This volume, which is revised annually as of January 1 each year, contains the Parallel Table of Statutory Authorities and Agency Rules (Table I). Also included is a list of CFR titles, chapters, and parts as well as an alphabetical list of agencies publishing in the CFR.
If the user knows the authorizing statute which gave the agency its power to promulgate regulations, then the user may consult the Table of Statutory Authorities, locate the authorizing statute, and see which regulations followed.
List of CFR Sections Affected (LSA)
The List of CFR Sections Affected (LSA) has finding aids to locate new regulations since the last published CFR as well as a citation for where the changes to the CFR, if any, are published in the FR.
Searching online
Online locations for the CFR: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr/index.html; www.westlaw.com; www.lexis.com
GPO Access contains the full text of the current Code of Federal Regulations as well as historical text of the CFR going back to 1997. The CFR on GPO Access can be searched by keyword, citation, or can be browsed by title.
Westlaw provides the full text of all adopted rules and regulations in the CFR in its Code of Federal Regulations database, located in the Directory under U.S. Federal Materials > Administrative Rules & Regulations . Users can browse the CFR by title, or search for regulations using a “Terms and Connectors” or “Natural Language” search.
In addition, Westlaw includes a feature entitled “Regulations Plus.” Once a user has located a regulation, they may use the “Regulations Plus” feature to locate prior versions of the regulation, all citing cases, Federal Register references, etc.
LexisNexis provides the full text of all adopted rules and regulations in the CFR in its Code of Federal Regulations folder, located in the Federal Legal – U.S. database. Users can browse the CFR by title, or search for regulations using a “Terms and Connectors” or “Natural Language” search. Users may also locate regulations through Lexis if they know the authorizing statute. They may look up the authorizing statute, refer to the notes section and see the corresponding regulations.
In addition, LexisNexis enables users to monitor changes to the CFR using the Federal Register. To do so, the user must select the Federal Regulations file from the Federal Legal database. If, for example, the user is interested in proposed or enacted amendments that might affect the text of section 17 CFR 249.310 (in effect on April 1st, 1993), they would enter the following search in the Federal Regulations file:
date aft 4/1/93 and cfr(17 and 249) and 249.310
The Federal Register (FR) is a daily publication which contains proposed agency rules and federal agency regulations, as well as presidential proclamations and executive orders.
Tarlton Law Library Location for the FR: Fifth floor, Stack 538-540
Searching by citation
The elements of a federal regulation citation in the Federal Register are:
1. Volume number
2. Source abbreviation (Fed. Reg. for Federal Register)
3. Page number
4. Date (day month, year)For example, for the citation 71 Fed. Reg. 6021 (Jan. 31, 2006)
1. “71” is the volume number of the Federal Register.
2. "Fed. Reg." is the abbreviation for the Federal Register.
3. “6021” is the page number of the volume which contains the text of the regulation.
4. "2006" indicates year of publication of the volume of the Federal Register in which the regulation was found.Searching without a citation
FR Index
The Federal Register Index is issued on a monthly basis and is a consolidation of the Contents pages from the daily Federal Register. Users may search for regulations by agency name in the Index. Sub-agencies are also referred to under the broader agency name. For example, the Agriculture Department may refer to the Agricultural Marketing Service.
Each volume of the Federal Register contains Contents pages for that particular volume.
Searching Online
Online locations for the FR: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html ; www.westlaw.com ; www.lexis.com
GPO Access contains Federal Register volumes from 1994 (or volume 59) to the present. The FR on GPO Access can be searched by keyword, citation, or page number. Users may also browse the Table of Contents going back to 1998.
Westlaw provides the full text of the Federal Register from January 1936 through the present in its Federal Register database, located in the Directory under U.S. Federal Materials > Administrative Rules & Regulations.
LexisNexis provides the full text of the Federal Register from July 1, 1980 through the present in its Federal Register folder, located in the Federal Legal – U.S. database.
FINDING TEXAS REGULATIONS
The Texas Administrative Code, created in 1977 by the Texas Legislature under the Administrative Code Act (Government Code, §§2002.051-2002.056), is the official compilation of all state agency rules in Texas . There are 16 titles in the TAC, each of which represents a subject category. Regulations of each agency are assigned to the appropriate title.
Tarlton Law Library Location for the Texas Administrative Code: Fifth floor, Call # KFT 1234.5 O43
Searching by Citation
The elements of a Texas regulation citation in the Texas Administrative Code are:
1. Title
2. Source abbreviation ( Tex. Admin. Code for the Texas Administrative Code)
3. Section number
4. Date (year)For example, for the citation 31 Tex. Admin. Code § 201.1 (2005):
1. "31" is the Title number of the Texas Administrative Code.
2. " Tex. Admin. Code " is the abbreviation for the Texas Administrative Code.
3. "§ 201.1" is the section of Title 31 in which the text of the relevant regulation can be found.
4. "2005" indicates the year of publication of the volume of the Texas Administrative Code in which the regulation was found.Searching without a citation
General Index
The General Index to the Texas Administrative Code is a subject index arranged in alphabetical order. Under general subject headings and specific sub-headings, the General Index provides detailed cross-references to relevant rules and regulations adopted by the various agencies, commissions, and departments of the State of Texas and codified in the Texas Administrative Code.
Searching online
Online locations for the Texas Administrative Code: http://www.sos.state.tx.us/tac/index.html ; www.westlaw.com ; www.lexis.com
The Texas Secretary of State maintains the full text of the Texas Administrative Code on its Web site. The TAC may be browsed by Title, Part, Chapter, Subchapter and Section.
Westlaw provides the full text of the Texas Administrative Code in its Texas Register database, located in the Directory under U.S. State Materials > Texas > Administrative & Executive Materials.
LexisNexis provides the full text of the Texas Administrative Code in its Statutes & Regulations folder, located in the States – Legal > Texas database.
Established by the Texas Legislature in 1975, the Texas Register is a weekly publication which serves as the journal of state agency rulemaking for Texas . Information published in the Texas Register includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents such as requests for proposals. These rulemaking actions are codified into the Texas Administrative Code , also maintained by the Office of the Secretary of State.
Searching by Citation
The elements of a Texas regulation citation in the Texas Register are:
1. Volume
2. Source Abbreviation ( Tex. Reg. for Texas Register)
3. Page number
4. Date (month day, year)For example, for the citation 29 Tex. Reg. 11027 (Nov. 26, 2004):
1. "29" is the volume number of the Texas Register.
2. "Tex. Reg.” is the abbreviation for the Texas Register.
3. "11027" is the page number which contains the text of the regulation.
4. " Nov. 26, 2004" indicates the date of publication of the Texas Register volume in which the regulation was found.Searching without a citation
Table of Contents
The Texas Register has a Table of Contents, located in the beginning of each issue. The Table of Contents is organized category of rulemaking action (Emergency Rules, Proposed Rules, Withdrawn Rules, Adopted Rules, etc.). Agencies are arranged alphabetically by agency name within these categories. If an agency has not released anything in a particular week, that agency will not be listed in the Table of Contents for that week's volume of the Texas Register.
Short descriptive subject headings are listed under each agency. Under these subject headings are citations to the relevant TAC section(s) as well as the page number of the beginning of the document.
Searching online
Online locations for the Texas Register: http://www.sos.state.tx.us/texreg/index.shtml; www.westlaw.com; www.lexis.com
The Texas Secretary of State maintains the full text of the current issue of the Texas Register on its Web site. Previous issues of the Texas Register are also available for approximately one year. The TAC may be browsed by its Table of Contents.
Westlaw provides the full text of all documents published in the Texas Register from October 1989 through the present in its Texas Administrative Register database, located in the directory under U.S. State Materials > Texas > Administrative & Executive Materials.
LexisNexis provides the full text of all documents published in the Texas Register from January 1, 1992 through the present in its Statutes & Regulations folder, located in the States – Legal > Texas database.
Prepared by Molly Mackey, Tarlton Fellow
Revised: April 23, 2007