Your goal is to find out about the law that established your agency. The steps below use the example of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Step 1: Locate the name, year, and U.S. Code citation of the law that created your agency
A. You will find a profile of your agency in the United States Government Manual
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Tip: some agencies are inside departments--check Wikipedia or agency website to figure out where to look for your agency.
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Tip: the agency's profile in the US Government Manual also includes head of agency, agency type, and overview of agency function.
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Link: https://www.usgovernmentmanual.gov
B. Check the agency's website to confirm that the law & year you found are plausible. Look for a link to "about" or "history".
Example: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission was established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5801)
Step 2: Get from your law's Popular Name to its US Code, Stat, & PL citations
Where to look:
- OPTION A: Use the "Citation Checker" in Proquest Legislative Insight:
- Enter the popular name of the law (the search box will guess & autofill the law of interest)
- Open the legislative history for that law to obtain basic citation information. The citations you need appear in the first lines of the legislative history.
- Follow along with this quick step-by-step guide.
- OPTION B: Use the Table of Popular Names in the Cornell Legal Information Institute
- Open the Table of Popular Names
- Select the first letter of your law's name
- Scroll down (or use control + F [command +F for macs] and enter the beginning of the law's name)
- Record the various citations provided under your law's name ***you will need to click on the Public Law citation to view a document showing the Bill #.
Example: The legal citations for the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 are
U.S. Code citation: 42 U.S.C. 5801
Public law number: P.L. 93-438
Statutes at Large citation: 88 Stat. 1233
Enacted Bill 93 H.R. 11510
Law Enacted date: Oct. 11, 1974
Note: The Legislative History in Proquest Legislative Insight contains far more information than you need for Assignment 2.
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