How to Find a Law
Introduction: Statutes, the Law, and Citation
Once a bill has been signed into law it becomes a statute, and is cited by its public law number (or private law number depending on the type of law). The public or private law number consists of the Congress in which it passed, followed by the chronological order in which it was passed. Thus, the 18th bill passed into law by the 105th Congress would be cited as 105-18.
These statutes are published individually and are available from a couple of different sources (see below). These statutes are also "codified" (published collectively) in the U.S. Code, the official compilation of federal law currently in force. The U.S. Code is organized by subject and uses a different citation system. The first number of the citation refers to its title, the broad category into which the law fits. The abbreviation USC refers to the United States Code. The final number refers to the section within the title where the law is located. For example, the law explaining the fair use exemption for copyrighted material is under title 17 (copyright) of the United States Code in section 107 and is cited 17 USC 107.
The same system holds true for laws in Pennsylvania, which are published both individually and collectively. However, the system of citation for individual statutes in Pennsylvania is slightly different than the citation system for federal statutes. Individual statutes in Pennsylvania are cited by the year (NOT the legislative session) in which they were enacted followed by the chronological order in which they were passed. Pennsylvania laws are "codified" (collectively published) in Purdon's Pennsylvania Statutes, annotated and are cited the in the same way as laws in the US Code, substituting P.S. (Pennsylvania Statutes) for USC as the abbreviation in the middle of the citation. For example, the law detailing the renewal of liquor licenses is under title 47 in Purdon's in section 4-470 and is cited 47 P.S. 4-470.
- If you are looking for the text of a particular law as it was enacted, use the resources in the Individual Statutes section of this webpage.
- If you are looking for what the law is on a particular subject use the Current Law section of this webpage.
- Congressional Universe
Provides the full text of individual public laws enacted from 1988 to the present. NOTE: In order to use Congressional Universe you must be a current Bucknell faculty, student or staff member. Members of the community may come into Bertrand Library to use Congressional Universe or can use the other resources listed below which are freely available.
*Available to anyone at Bertrand Library or online to current faculty, staff or students. - Public Laws: GPO Access
Contains the text of public laws from the 104th session of Congress (1995-1996) onward. Can be browsed by using the "Catalogs of available Public Laws (with HTML links)" or searched by keyword.
*Available to anyone online - Public Laws: THOMAS
Provides a collection of all public laws from the 93rd session of Congress (1973-1974) onward. Note: You must know the public law number or bill number in order to browse this collection. Keyword searching is not available.
*Available to anyone online - United States Statutes at Large
Ref KF50 .U52
This series contains the text of every public and private law as well as joint and concurrent resolutions (see How to find a bill...) passed by Congress. The volumes in this series are organized chronologically by Congressional session and then by law number. A subject index for each volume is available in the back of the volume. Although a statute can be found by using its law number, United States Statutes at Large has its own system of citation. The first number indicates the volume number of the series. The abbreviation, STAT., stands for United States Statutes at large. The final number indicates a page number. For example, page 3145 of volume 106 of the United States Statutes at Large is cited as 106 STAT. 3145. The public law listed on this page (102-492) also can be found by locating the volume of U.S. Statutes at large that covers the 102nd Congress (volume 106) and then browsing through the public laws, listed in chronological order, until number 492 is found (on page 3145).
*Available to anyone at Bertrand Library (cannot be checked out)
Individual Statutes: Pennsylvania
- Laws of Pennsylvania
Ref KFP25 .A4
This series contains the text of every law passed by the Pennsylvania legislature as well as "other documents relating to actions by the general assembly." The volumes in this series are organized chronologically by year and then by law number. A subject index for each volume is available in the back of the volume.
*Available to anyone at Bertrand Library (cannot be checked out)
- United States Code (In print)
Ref KF62 1994 .A2
The official compilation of active laws of the United States. See the Introduction for more information. The print edition of the U.S. Code is revised and reissued every six years. Many changes occur during the interum period which are covered by yearly supplements. Don't forget to look in these supplements, located in the back of each volume of the U.S. Code, to be sure that you have the most current information.
*Available to anyone at Bertrand Library (cannot be checked out) - United States Code (online - GPO Access)
United States Code (online - House of Representatives)
The online version of the U.S. Code can be browsed or searched by keyword. The House of Representatives' version also contains Classification Tables which list sections of the U.S. Code affected by recently enacted laws. Although every effort is made to reproduce the information in the print volumes online, the print edition is still the only official source available.
*Available to anyone online - United States Code Service (Congressional Universe)
The U.S. Code Service (abbreviated USCS) is an unofficial, annotated version of the U.S. Code. It is updated faster (monthly) than the U.S. Code and there is no need to search additional supplements. The USCS also provides additional information such as references to law review articles.
*Available to anyone at Bertrand Library or online to current faculty, staff or students.
- Purdon's Pennsylvania Statutes Annotated
Ref KFP30 .A45
The laws of Pennsylvania arranged by subject. Many changes to PA law occur before the arrival of updated volumes. These changes to the law are covered by yearly supplements. Don't forget to look in these supplements, located in the back of each volume of Purdon's, to be sure that you have the most current information.
*Available to anyone at Bertrand Library (cannot be checked out) - State Codes (Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe)
The State Codes section of Academic Universe contains the text of current laws in force for all 50 states (not just Pennsylvania).
*Available to anyone at Bertrand Library or online to current faculty, staff
