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OSHE 251 - Environmental Law Sources

This guide includes general legal and regulatory sources as well as sources specific to environmental law.

Congressional Publications

Congressional Publications

Congress.gov - This website allows individuals to search for and to track current, proposed legislation and other legislative information.

Congressional Bills - Congressional bills are legislative proposals from the House of Representatives and Senate. This website also defines different types of bills that can be filed.

Congressional Calendars - The Congressional Calendars provide a history of bills or resolutions which have been reported or considered in the House of Representatives or Senate.

Congressional Documents or 4th Floor U.S. documents stacks -- Senate Documents (including Senate Treaty Documents) Y 1.1/3 and Y 1.1/4; House Documents Y 1.1/7 - Congressional documents contain various kinds of materials ordered to be printed by both chambers of Congress.

Congressional Hearings or 2nd Floor Serials U.S. documents microfiche -- Y.4... - Congressional hearings are meetings or sessions of Senate, House, joint, or special committees of Congress that obtain information on proposed legislation, conduct investigations, or evaluate/oversee government departments or implementation of federal law.

Congressional Record or Congressional Record (Bound) or  2nd Floor Serials U.S. documents microfilm -- Docs. Film 401, 2nd Floor Serials U.S. documents microfiche -- X 1.1 - The Congressional Record, published daily, is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress.

Congressional Reports or 4th Floor U.S. document stacks -- Senate Reports Y 1.1/5: and Y 1.1/6; House Reports Y 1.1/8  - Congressional reports originate from committees and deal with proposed legislation and issues under investigation. This website describes the two different types of Congressional reports.

House Journal or 2nd Floor Serials U.S. documents microfiche and 2nd Floor Media Room U.S. documents disk cabinet -- XJH - The House Journal (or The Journal of the House of Representatives) is the official record of the proceedings of the House of Representatives, though it contains no verbatim debate.

Laws

Laws

Constitution of the United States or Reference Room U.S. documents stacks -- Y1.1/2:SERIAL 14866 - The Constitution is the supreme law of the United States. It defines government powers and limits via articles, amendments, and sections devoted to what has been deemed unconstitutional.

Public and Private Laws or 4th Floor U.S. Documents Stacks -- AE 2.110: - Public laws affect society as a whole; private laws affect an individual, family, or small group. These are also known as "slip laws."

United States Statutes at Large or 4th Floor U.S. documents stacks -- AE 2.111 - The Statutes at Large is a permanent sequential collection of all laws and resolutions enacted during each session of Congress.

United States Code or Reference Room U.S. documents stacks -- Y 1.2/5 - The US Code contains the general and permanent laws of the United States divided by broad subjects into 51 titles.

govinfo - This site maintained by the U.S. Government Printing Office allows multiple legal resources to be searched simultaneously.