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Timelines
for Studying Federal Laws
Ask for help at the Reference & Information Services Desk.
| TIME PERIOD | QUESTIONS | SOURCES (Government Information print sources - Haggard 2) |
| The Past | "Why and how was this law enacted?" (legislative history) |
Congressional Information Service (CIS)
/Gov. Inf. Ref. GP 3.6/70: Congressional Quarterly Almanac / Gov. Inf. Ref. Xc:
14/ Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report /Gov. Inf. Ref. Xc:wr v.16 1958- Bills / Microfiche: Y1.4/1: and Y1.4/6: Thomas: Bill Summary and Status (1973- present) Committee Hearings /Gov. Inf. and Microfiche:Y4. Thomas: House Committees Thomas: Senate Committees Committee Reports /Microfiche: Y1.1/5: -Y1.1/8: Thomas: Committee Reports (1995-present) Etc. |
| The Past | "How did this law read when it was enacted?" |
Slip laws/Gov. Inf. Ref. AE
2.110: & GS 4.110: ) Statutes at Large (Gov. Inf. Ref. AE 2.111: and microfiche) Thomas: Public Laws by Law Number (1973-present) |
| The Past | "When did this law take effect?" |
Slip laws (Gov. Inf. Ref. AE
2.110: & GS 4.110: ) Statutes at Large (Gov. Inf. Ref. AE 2.111: and microfiche) |
| The Past | "Have any court decisions affected this law?" |
Shepard's U.S. Citations (Gov.
Inf. Ju 6.8/5:) (NOTE: Western's collection of Shepard's is not up-to-date.) |
| The Present | "How does the law read today?" (as amended by other laws) |
United
States Code United States Code Annotated (Gov. Inf. Ref. Y 4.J ) |
| The Present | "Is this law the authority for any federal regulations?" |
Code of Federal Regulations Index (Gov. Inf. Ref. AE 2.106/3-2X:) Code of Federal Regulations |
| The Present | "How well is this law currently working?" |
Congressional Information Service (CIS)
(Gov. Inf. Ref. GP 3.6/70:) Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report Committee Hearings (Paper and Microfiche:Y4.) Thomas: House Committees Thomas: Senate Committees Etc. |
|
The Future |
"Are any changes to this law being considered?" |
Congressional Information Service (CIS)
(Gov. Inf. Ref. GP 3.6/70:) Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report Bills (Microfiche: Y1.4/1: and Y1.4/6:) Thomas: Bill Summary and Status (1973- present) Committee Hearings (Paper and Microfiche:Y4.) Thomas: House Committees Thomas: Senate Committees Committee Reports (Microfiche: Y1.1/5: -Y1.1/8:) Thomas: Committee Reports (1995- present) Etc. |
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revised 10/03