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Finding
Federal Regulations
(Administrative Law)
Compiled by the Saint Louis University Law Library**
Federal
Regulations
Administrative regulations (also called rules) are
promulgated by executive agencies. Congress,
by statute, grants executive agencies authority to promulgate regulations.
Proposed regulations are published in the Federal Register.
After a period of time for public comment and possible revision, the
final regulations also are published in the Federal Register.
The regulations are created in order to implement and enforce statutes
passed by Congress.
Federal
Register
The Federal Register contains announcements of
hearings by agencies and requests for comments as well as proposed and final
regulations. It is published every
Federal working day. Two years of the Federal Register are kept in the
stacks.
KF
70.A2. The previous years are
either in microfilm or mircofiche. Beginning
with 1936 through 1980, the Federal Register is available in microfilm
and can be found in the stacks next to the paper editions. From 1981 to date the
Federal Register is in mircofiche format.
The mircofiche is kept in cabinet one of the Federal Cluster on the first
floor of the library. (If you need
assistance in locating or using these formats, please see the circulation desk.)
Each issue of the Federal Register contains a detailed table of
contents, arranged by agency name, and two lists of existing regulations that
are affected by the rulemaking process. Monthly
cumulative indexes (which are compiled into annual indexes at the end of the
year) provide access to the Federal Register under broad subject, such as
housing, or agency name. Temporary
and interim rules can only be found in the Federal Register.
Code
of Federal Regulations (CFR)
Permanent regulations are arranged in the Code of
Federal Regulations in fifty subject categories, called titles.
Most citations to the Code of Federal Regulations include the
title number and the section number (e.g., 49 C.F.R. 511.11 translates into
section 511.11 of title 49).
Code of Federal Regulations
volumes are revised on a rotating schedule.
Always check the date on the front cover of any volume to see how current
the information in that volume is. Any
additions or changes to the information in the volume after that date are
published in the Federal Register. The
current two years are shelved at KF 70.A1; the previous years are kept in
compact shelving on the first floor. Volumes
1938-date are also available in microfiche.
Each volume of the Code of Federal Regulations
contains a brief table of contents at the beginning as well as several finding
aids at the end. These finding aids
include the List of Sections Affected (LSA), which indicates the changes
made to specific sections in previous years, a complete list of titles and
chapters, and an alphabetical agency list.
An annual index, issued at the beginning of each year, provides
references to information under agency name and broad subject area.
This index also provides a list of authorizing statutes, a list of
titles, chapters, and parts, and an alphabetical list of agencies.
How
to find federal regulations
1.
Finding regulations by subject
a. Search for the subject in the index to the Code of Federal
Regulations.
b. If this does not work, look at the list of titles at the beginning of
any volume of the Code of Federal Regulations. This may provide a clue to
the correct title. Each title has a
detailed outline at the beginning.
c. Regulations which are not yet codified may be located by subject in
the indexes to the Federal Register.
2.
Finding regulations by the promulgating agency
Regulations may also be located by searching the name of
the promulgating agency in the index.
3.
Finding a regulation by the statute which authorized it
a. The index volume of the Code of Federal Regulations has a table
of authorizing statutes. Look up
the statute to find references to the regulations.
b. Another method is to use the United States Code Service (KF
62.2.C62) or United States Code Annotated (KF 62.3.C624). The
notes following the code section may give a reference to the sections of the Code
of Federal Regulations related to that statute.
4.
Finding amendments to regulations
Changes
to existing regulations may be located by checking the monthly or annual List
of Sections Affected volumes (KF 70.A11) issued since the Code of
Federal Regulations volume containing the regulation were last published.
5.
Updating Changes to Existing Regulations
a. Check the date of revision on the cover of the C.F.R.
volume.
b. Find the most recent monthly List
of Sections Affected pamphlet;
look inside the front cover; the table divides C.F.R.'s into 4 groups;
find your section, and note the time period covered (make sure there is no
gap between the date on the C.F.R. volume and the beginning of List
of Sections Affected pamphlet); if there is a gap, look for the Annual
List of Sections Affected covering your section.
c. Use the List of Sections Affected tables to find
proposed and final regulations by C.F.R. cite; references are to Federal
Register page numbers.
d. Note when the List of Sections Affected coverage
ended; find the last Federal Register for each month or partial month
since that date.
e. Check the C.F.R. Parts Affected table in the Federal
Register for changes occurring during that month (table cumulates daily
until the end of the month); references are to Federal Register pages.
Tip: Each Federal
Register edition has a page to date table in the back.
Each cumulative monthly index has a Federal Register page to
date table on the very back.
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