When doing legislative history research, it is often useful to consider the preambles to final and
proposed rules, which can frequently be found in the Federal Register.
A previous tip of the week described the Federal Register and the
Code of Federal Regulations Research Guide, a resource published by the Law Librarians' Society of Washington, D.C., Inc.
(LLSDC).
-
Contents and Organization of the Federal Register and CFR.
“Since 1977 preambles to final and proposed rules have been required to contain certain headings and related
material including the name of the agency, a brief line on the action being taken, a summary of the rule, the effective date of the rule
(or date when comments are due), contact information, and supplementary information (see footnote 15). The supplementary information
frequently provides a discussion of the background and need for the regulation, and in case of a final rule how it differs from the
proposed rule as well as responses to comments made on the proposed rule.”
- “Published by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA),
the Federal Register is the official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations,
as well as executive orders and other presidential documents”--From GPO Access.
- Online access to the
Federal Register can be found on GPO Access.
It currently includes access to the Federal Register from 1994 (Volume 59) through 2006 (Volume 71).
- For access to earlier volumes of the FR, contact the
Federal Depository Library nearest you.
|