The Texas Register is a weekly publication that serves as the journal of state agency rulemaking for Texas. It includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents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. Final rules are codified into the Texas Administrative Code (TAC), also maintained by the Office of the Secretary of State.
Established by the Texas Legislature in 1975, publication of the Texas Register began in January, 1976. Senate Bill 1177 (75th Legislature) decreased the publication frequency of the Texas Register from twice-weekly (Tuesdays and Fridays) to weekly (Fridays only). This change went into effect in September, 1997.
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Searching by Citation
The elements of a citation are:
For example, for the citation 29 Tex. Reg. 11027 (Nov. 26, 2004):
Searching Without a Citation
Table of Contents
A Table of Contents is located in the beginning of each issue and is organized by category of rulemaking action (Emergency Rules, Proposed Rules, Withdrawn Rules, Adopted Rules, etc.).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.
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
The Texas Secretary of State maintains the full text of the current issue of the Texas Register on its Web site in both HTML and PDF formats. Previous issues of the Texas Register are also available from its first issue, Volume 1, No. 1 (January 6, 1976) to the present.
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.
Lexis 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 (you may need to click on "More Sources" if the Texas Register database is not listed).
The Texas Administrative Code (TAC), 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.
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Searching by Citation
The elements of a citation are:
For example, for the citation 31 Tex. Admin. Code § 201.1 (2005):
Searching Without a Citation
General Index
The General Index is a subject index arranged in alphabetical order, located in the last two volumes. 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 TAC.
Searching Online
The Texas Secretary of State maintains the full text on its website. The TAC may be browsed by Title, Part, Chapter, Subchapter and Section.
Westlaw provides the full text in its Texas Administrative Code database, located in the Directory under U.S. State Materials > Texas > Administrative & Executive Materials. Westlaw also has historical versions of the TAC, dating back to 2002.
Lexis provides the full text in its Statutes, Regulations, Administrative Materials & Court Rules folder, located in the States – Legal > Texas database. Lexis only has the Administrative Code currently in effect.