|
Last revised: August, 2008
Federal Regulatory Information
Scope: This is a guide to the regulatory process as well as a selective list of reference tools for finding federal regulatory publications in print and on the Web. If you have any questions or would like further assistance, please contact the U.S. Government Information, Maps & GIS Services staff at
govdocs@umd.edu or 301.405.9165.
The Regulatory Process
The rule making process is a set of formal procedures through which a law, adopted by Congress and signed by the President, is translated into specific written requirements to be carried out and enforced by the executive branch and its federal agencies. These written requirements are called regulations. Federal agencies create itemized procedures in the form of an "agency document" which is published in the daily Federal Register and later codified annually in the Code of Federal Regulations. The primary function of the resultant Federal Register/Code of Federal Regulations system is to inform the public about rules set by federal agencies.
- The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
The Federal Register is only the first stop on a regulation's journey. The final rules and presidential materials are funneled yearly into the Code of Federal Regulations. Here the general and permanent rules originally published in the Federal Register are systematically arranged under 50 subject titles. The 50 CFR titles are divided into chapters (one for each rule-issuing agency), parts (general topics of regulation), and sections (the actual text of the regulation), each with its own table of contents. Regulations published in the Code of Federal Regulations are cited by title and section numbers, with the date sometimes added in parenthesis (i.e. 40 CFR 211.10 (1978)).
| UMCP McKeldin Library, U.S. Government Information: |
| Dates: |
Collection: |
Call numbers: |
| 1938-present |
Database available through ResearchPort |
HeinOnline Federal Register Library
UM Only |
1938-present
limited 1980's & 1990's |
U.S. Government Information Reference |
AE 2.106/3: |
| 1975-present |
U.S. Government Information Microfiche |
GS 4.108: |
| 1996-present |
Online |
GPO Access |
| Note: Also available through LexisNexis Congressional (1980-present) and Westlaw Campus Research (1981-present), UM Only |
- List of CFR Sections Affected
The List of CFR Sections Affected is issued monthly and is used to update CFR sections changed by new rules published in the Federal Register. This resource is helpful to check if a regulation is current. It can also be used to find out when a regulation was removed, revised, or moved to a new title.
| UMCP McKeldin Library, U.S. Government Information: |
| Dates: |
Collection: |
Call numbers: |
| 1949-present |
Database available through Research Port |
HeinOnline Federal Register Library
UM Only |
| 1949-present |
U.S. Government Information Reference |
AE 2.106/2: Current issues |
| 1982-1985 |
U.S. Government Information Microfiche |
GS 4.108/3: |
| 1985-present |
U.S. Government Information Microfiche |
AE 2.106: |
| 1986-present |
Online |
GPO Access |
Note: U.S. Government Information microfilm and microfiche are located in the U.S. Government Information, Maps & GIS Services computer room on the 4th floor of McKeldin Library.
return to top
Locating Regulatory Information
This is a very selective list of tools; there are many more resources online and in print especially for finding older materials.
- GPO Access: Regulatory
Federal regulatory information and publications including the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations.
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/regulatory.html
- HeinOnline Federal Register Library UM Only
Full-text access to the Federal Register, Federal Register Indexes (1939-1995), Compilation of Sections Affected, Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents (1965-2004), and the Administrative Procedure Act (1944-1946).
- LexisNexis Congressional UM Only
LexisNexis Congressional provides full text searching of the Federal Register (1980 - present) and Code of Federal Regulations (1981-present). It also provides access to the Congressional Indexes, 1789-1969, thought not in full text format.
- LexisNexis Academic UM Only
Provides full text access to the U.S. Code, the Code of Federal Regulations, and the Federal Register as well as various state level regulatory information. Click on the "legal" tab once you have accessed the database.
- Westlaw Campus Research UM Only
Full-text access the U.S. Code, the Code of Federal Regulations, and the Federal Register as well as various state level regulatory information. Click on the "law" tab once you have accessed the database.
return to top
Other Useful Resources
- Cornell University Legal Information Institute
Excellent for browsing or searching for regulations. There are also subject guides to legal issues.
http://www.law.cornell.edu/
- RegInfo.gov
Links to Federal Regulatory information. Includes "RegMap," which outlines the regulatory process.
http://www.reginfo.gov/public/
- Regulations.gov
Find and read pending regulations posted in the Federal Register. Users may give comments on the proposed regulations.
http://www.regulation.gov/index.cfm
- Federal Legislative Information
UM Libraries' guide to U.S. legislative information sources.
http://www.lib.umd.edu/guides/legs.html
return to top
|