Legal Research Guides — Federal Administrative Law
When Congress enacts legislation, it often delegates regulatory authority to administrative agencies with special expertise about the subject matter of the legislation. Agencies such as the EPA, FTC, OSHA, SEC, etc. issue detailed regulations concerning the implementation and enforcement of many federal statutes.
Many federal agencies also perform quasi-judicial functions, issuing administrative decisions interpreting and applying the agency's regulations. Regulations and administrative decisions are primary legal authority and must be researched as carefully as other primary sources.
Federal Regulatory Publications
- The Federal Register is published every business day. It includes final, interim, and proposed regulations of federal agencies. A table of contents at the beginning of each issue lists in alphabetical order the agencies that have issued regulations that day and page references to the regulations. The Federal Register is cited by volume number (2003 issues are in Volume 68) and by page number. The Federal Register is available in Print - Bank 4 on the first floor; on the Internet via GPO Access; and on Lexis and Westlaw, which have the current year's Federal Register and prior years back to 1980.
- The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) compiles agency regulations by title. Regulations are organized by subject into 50 "titles." For example, EPA regulations are published in title 40. The regulations are further divided into parts and sections. E.g., 40 CFR 80.815 ("gasoline toxics performance requirements for refiners and importers") stands for title 40, part 80, section 815. Authority notes in the table of contents for each CFR Part provide the statutory or executive authority under which the regulations were issued, and source notes reference the Federal Register issue in which the regulations were first published. The Code of Federal Regulations is available in Print - Bank 4 on the first floor; on the Internet via GPO Access; and on Lexis and Westlaw, which have the current CFR and prior years back to 1981 and 1984, respectively.
Finding Federal Regulations and Administrative Decisions
- The Index and Finding Aids volume at the end of the CFR print set is a good place to start. A table at the end of the index volume lists federal statutes and any corresponding regulations. The index volume also contains a subject index. Full-text searching is available at the GPO Access sites above and on Lexis and Westlaw.
- Looseleaf services often combine statutory and regulatory sources with helpful analysis of a particular subject. E.g., CCH Federal Securities Law Reporter includes the current text of the federal securities statutes, SEC regulations, and agency decisions. Ask a reference librarian for help in finding whether there is a looseleaf service suitable for your research.
- The University of Virginia Library provides links to sites containing federal administrative decisions.
Updating Federal Regulations
CFR volumes are revised and reissued annually. Use the sources below in tandem with the CFR to locate the most current regulatory information.
- Check the Federal Register each business day.
- Check the List of Sections Affected (LSA).
- Check the Current List of CFR Parts Affected.
Updating federal regulations requires familiarity with the above sources. Ask a reference librarian if you need help updating a regulation.
Regulatory History
When a CFR title is revised the new annual edition includes all final regulations from the previous year's Federal Register issued by agencies covered in that title. The Federal Register has valuable information that is not in the CFR, including background material about a regulation and the names and phone numbers of agency experts who may be able to provide more information about specific regulations.
To research the background of a CFR section, check the source note for that section. It gives the Federal Register cite to where the regulation was first published; there you may learn more about the agency's intent in enacting the regulation.
Case Law Interpreting Regulations
Check Shepard's Code of Federal Regulations Citations and Westlaw's Key Cite service to find court decisions citing a specific regulation.
