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Research Guides > Pennsylvania Administrative Law Research

 

Pennsylvania Administrative Law Research

 

Administrative law consists of rules, regulations, decisions, and guidance documents issued by executive branch agencies, boards, commissions, departments, and offices. These agencies are generally created by statute.

 

Directories & Guides

Annual Survey of Pennsylvania Administrative Law, Weidner Law Journal, print, Law 3rd floor bound periodicals, KF27.I32; online, Widener Law Journal  (Administrative law progress in a survey of selected court decisions.)

Pennsylvania Legal Research, (Chapter 7 Administrative Law) 3rd floor ready reference, KFP75 .B87 2007. Online

Pennsylvania Legal Research
Pennsylvania Legal Research Handbook, (Chapter 6 Administrative Law) print, Law Reserves, KFP75 .P47 2008, latest edition & Pennsylvania Collection, previous edition.

Pennsylvania Legal Research Web Sites

The Pennsylvania Manual, print, Hagerty Reference, JK3630 .P4 2001-02; online, The Pennsylvania Manual

 


Rules & Regulations


Pennsylvania Code contains Pennsylvania Commonwealth administrative law, including rules and regulations, court rules, certain rules and regulations pertaining to the Pennsylvania General Assembly, and home rule charters for certain Pennsylvania counties and cities.  The rules and regulations have the effect of law in Pennsylvania.  The purpose of the Pennsylvania Code is to provide one source for all the rules and regulations of the state of Pennsylvania.  The Code is used by companies to make sure they are in compliance with all the laws of Pennsylvania and is used by advocates to identify areas where companies are not in compliance with the laws of Pennsylvania.

Updating the print Pennsylvania code:


Pennsylvania Bulletin (biweekly) The Pennsylvania Bulletin is the official gazette of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It contains notices, regulations and other documents filed with the Legislative Reference Bureau and supplements the Pennsylvania code.   The purpose of the Pennsylvania Bulletin is to update the Pennsylvania Code.

Using the Pennsylvania Bulletin. The Pennsylvania Bulletin serves as the temporary supplement to the Code. Once you have found a useful Code section, you should check the certification date of that Title's Transmittal Sheet. To cover the period from the certification date to today (generally three to four months), reference should be made to Bulletins issued during the period. The Bulletin contains an updated list of Pennsylvania Code Chapters Affected and a quarterly Subject Index as finding aids.

Updating the Pennsylvania Bulletin:

 


Administrative Decisions

Print and additional sources are described in:

LexisNexis provides a combined and individual agency decisions database:

Westlaw provides individual agency databases. A partial list includes:

 


Other States’ Administrative Law Research

Most state administrative systems parallel the Pennsylvania model. The American Bar Association's Administrative Procedure Database Archive at Florida State University College of Law contains text and links to state administrative procedure acts.

The blue jurisdiction pages of The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, 18th ed. (at Ready Reference Collection KF245.U5 2005) identify the name and abbreviation of each state's administrative code and register.

Many state codes, registers, and administrative decisions are available on LexisNexis, Westlaw, and/or the Internet; see the vendors’ database directories for specific contents.

Links to state codes, registers, and government manuals on the Internet are provided by the National Association of Secretaries of State. The Law Librarians' Society of the District of Columbia guide to State Legislatures, State Laws and State Regulations is another useful source.

The State Administrative Law Bibliography: Print and Electronic Sources, 3rd floor Ready Reference Collection, (On order), identifies sources of state regulations and administrative agency decisions.

Guide to state legislative and administrative materials, 3rd floor Ready Reference Collection, KF1 .F57 2002