Bill = proposed
Law = enacted/signed
Regulation = implemented
Statutory Law (Statutes and Codes)
Statutes: Laws passed by Congress or by a state legislature. Signed by the President or governor, or enacted via a veto override. Arranged in chronological order. The Legislation resources to the right provide access to laws by congressional/legislative session.
Codes: Listing of all laws currently in effect. Arranged under "Titles," i.e., broad subjects.
Administrative Law (Regulations & Rules)
Federal and state agencies implement statutory law by issuing rules and regulations. Proposed rules and regulations are disseminated in advance through the applicable Register. Administrative law has the same effect as statutory law.
Committee reports, hearing testimony, and congressional debates provide the context for passed and failed legislation. Several databases allow tracking of current legislation and provide legislative histories of passed and failed bills.
Statutes, codes, and regulations are found in WestlawNext, HeinOnline, and at government sites. The United States Code Annotated and the individual state codes in WestlawNext have various 'Tools & Resources' on the right side of the screen. These links are helpful for finding laws by topic and popular name. HeinOnline is very useful for older editions of statutes, codes, and regulations.