LibGuides: Government Documents & Information: U.S. Laws, Regulations, and the Courts

A Guide to Finding Information About Legislation

	GovInfo	Library of Congress	Congress.gov	ProQuest	HeinOnline
Bills	1993-	1799-1873	1951- 1799-1873 with gaps	17 76-
Committee Prints	1989-; 1975-1976			1789- indexing	1865- with gaps
Committee Reports	1995 - 1925-1926 1821-1864 with gaps	1833-1917	1995-	1789- indexing	1817- with gaps
Congressional Record & predecessors)	1994-		1903-	1789-	1789-
Congressional Record Index	1983-
Congressional Documents	1985- scattered 1817-1866	1833-1917		1789 - indexing	1817- with gaps
Congressional Hearings	1955-			1824-2003*	1849- with gaps
Private Laws	1995-		1973-	17 76-
Public Laws	1995-		1973-	17 76-
U.S. Statutes at Large	1951-	1789-1875		1789-	1789-
U.S. Code	1994-				1925-
Voting Records			1989-	1987 -

* Plus citations/abstracts and selected testimony transcripts 2004-current.

Thanks to library staff at the University of California San Diego for their help with this aid. Theirs (indicating their subscriptions) is here: https://ucsd.libguides.com/usgov/legislative

Databases for Information About Laws & the Legislative Process

HeinOnline
Statutes at Large of the United States, along with other important sets.
ProQuest Congressional
Provides indexing of Congressional documents from 1789 to date.
Govinfo.gov
From the Government Printing Office. Much valuable content, including the U.S. Code; Congressional bills and the hearings; History of Bills; and the Congressional Record.

Federal Regulations

HeinOnline
Includes the Federal Register (beginning with v.1, 1936) and the Code of Federal Regulations (beginning with v.1, 1938), along with other important sets.

Federal Register - govinfo.gov
Announcements of proposed and new regulations. Starting with v.1, 1936.
Code of Federal Regulations
Current codified regulations from the U.S. federal government. This product is from the U.S. Government Printing Office.
Regulations.gov: Your Voice in Federal Decision-Making
An opportunity to submit comments on proposed regulations and regulation changes.

The Courts

HeinOnline
Includes the U.S. Supreme Court Library, along with other important sets. This product has lots of valuable content but if you don't find something, also check Nexis Uni.
Nexis Uni
Includes federal and state court decisions, with "Shephardize" feature. Some unique content.

Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation
The Constitution with analysis.
FedWorld.gov
Historical decisions (1937-1975) of the Supreme Court.
Supreme Court of the United States
Find opinions of the court (1991 to date) and information about the institution of the Supreme Court.
U.S Constitution Annotated
From the Legal Information Institute of Cornell Law School. Linking to court opinions and other aids to interpretation.
United States Courts
About the federal courts, including "Find a Case" -- PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) --- https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/find-case-pacer) case locator.
United States Courts Opinions
Provides "public access to opinions from selected United States appellate, district, and bankruptcy courts." Most content dates back at least to April 2004.
United States Supreme Court Cases
Supreme Court decisions,1760 to date.

U.S. Congressional Serial Set

What is the Congressional Serial Set?

From govinfo.gov:

"The Serial Set is comprised of the numbered Senate and House Documents and Senate and House Reports, bound by session of Congress. The contents of the Serial Set have varied throughout the publication’s history, and at times have included House and Senate Journals, and the reports of executive departments and agencies."

Even experts agree that coverage is confusing. There's overlap with what is covered in the table on the left but it is hard to predict.

For access, options include:

HeinOnline
HelinOnline promises complete access to the Serial Set and has very helpful indexing:
(see: U.S. Congressional Serial Set
Introduction
American State Papers: 1st-25th Congress (1789-1838)
Congressional Serial Set: 15th-114th Congress (1817-2017)
Congressional Documents: 115th-118th Congress (2018-2023)
Congressional Reports 115th-118th Congress (2018-2023)
Guides & Indexes
Secrets of the Serial Set
LibGuide)

U.S. Congressional Serial Set (print)
Go to PCL shelving section 6BB (section "BB" of the 6th floor) to use the Serial Set in print.
U.S. Congressional Serials Set (from govinfo)
A growing set of materials, with much explanatory material.