U.S. Government Information - Legislation - Guide to publications and records that document the process: Law

This guide, following the U.S. Congressional legislative process as described in the info-graph, "How Our Laws are Made", help to identify sources for the publications and records that document the legislative history of a bill as it becomes law.

Digital Access to "slip" laws

Public and private laws are also known as slip laws. A slip law is an official publication of the law and is competent evidence admissible in all state and Federal courts and tribunals of the United States. Public laws affect society as a whole, while private laws affect an individual, family, or small group.

After the President signs a bill into law, it is delivered to the Office of the Federal Register (OFR), National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) where it is assigned a law number, legal statutory citation (public laws only), and prepared for publication as a slip law. Private laws receive their legal statutory citations when they are published in the United States Statutes at Large.

Digital Full Text Access to the Statutes at Large

The Statutes at Large serves as the permanent collection of all laws and resolutions enacted during each session of Congress.  Each volume is arranged in chronological order in which the law the law was enacted.  For the most recently enacted laws see "slip" laws.

Digital Full Text Access to the United States Code

The United States Code is a consolidation of general and permanent laws in force at a specific point in time. The volumes are codified and arranged into 51 titles (broad subjects).

Government Information Services Coordinator

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Carmen Orth-Alfie
she/her
Contact:
University of Kansas Libraries
Watson Library
(785) 864-8929