Legislative Process Summary
Only members of the United States Congress, consisting of the House and Senate, can introduce legislation, excluding appropriation or revenue bills which must originate in the House.
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The principal forms of legislation are: bills (H.R.1; S.1), joint resolutions (H.J.Res.1; S.J.Res.1) concurrent resolutions (H.Con.Res.1; S.Con.Res.1), and simple resolutions (H.Res.1; S.Res.1).
- The majority of laws passed by the Congress are public (P.L.) applying to the entire nation but a small percentage are private laws (Pvt. L.) affecting individuals, families, or small groups. Sample citation: Public Law: P.L. 111-3 [111th Congress, Public Law number 3]
- Bills that complete the legislative process and become law are assigned a public law or private law number, temporarily released as an unbound “slip law,” and then published in the United States Statutes at Large. Sample citation: Statutes at Large: 122 STAT. 701 [Volume 122, Statutes at Large, page 701]
- Newly entered statutes are later integrated with other similar laws and permanently codified under one of the 50 topical titles in the United States Code. Sample citation: United States Code: 42 U.S.C. 1971 et seq. (1988) [Title number, United States Code, Section or Part number, Year of Compilation]
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The U.S. Government Printing Office disseminates official information from all three branches of the Federal Government. Search the entire catalog of government publications. Formerly called FDsys.
Access note: Freely available to the public.
- Public and Private Laws (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.
- United States Statutes at LargePermanent laws – public and private – that were enacted during each session of Congress.
- United States CodePermanent and general laws of the United States are divided by broad subjects into fifty-one titles.
- Congressional DirectoryOfficial directory of the United States Congress that includes members of the Senate and House, committee members, room and telephone numbers, and officials of the courts.
- Congressional Record (daily)Official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress.
Tracing Legislation - Essential Sources
Legislative histories, which review the complete legislative cycle, are frequently compiled to analyze the legislative intent of a particular law or interpret a statute. If the legislation’s number or citation is unknown, try locating it by text searching law reviews, news databases, or legislative resources listed below. Popular name tables from the U.S. Code or Cornell’s Legal Information Institute are also helpful.
Examine the following souces to iniate a legislative review. Consult a librarian for further assistance.
Legislation Live
Watch live or recorded proceedings of the United States federal government, as well as other public affairs programming.
