When referencing United States legislative literature (excluding debates), the Bluebook recommends include the title, if applicable, the shortened name of the chamber, the number of the Congress, the number allocated to the document, and the year of publication. State documents are commonly mentioned in the same manner. For example, a statute or regulation could be referenced as "House Bill 1234" or "HB 1234." Legislative material published during the same session of Congress should use the same citation format; for example, an amendment to a bill would be cited as "H.R. 2646," not "H.R. 1846." If there is no title or short title applicable to the material, it is not necessary to specify one.
All federal materials have a serial number. This number should be included when citing material published more than once during the same session of Congress. For example, a section of a House bill that was reported out by committee and then passed into law without further action would be cited as H.R. 5123XX-X. If the material has no serial number, like most administrative regulations, its date becomes the reference point. Thus, a citation to a final rulemaking authority may read "2000 HR 5072," meaning "Hearing Rights for Prisoners Act of 2000."
Include the following for each citation:
Include the following for each citation:
Using a Federal Law Include the bill title (if applicable), the shortened name of the house (H.R. or S.), the bill number, the Congress number, and the year of publication. Include the URL at the end of the reference list entry when it is available. The full citation for a U.S. government document is: Senate Bill No. 714, One Hundred Tenth Congress, 2d Session.
Citations to reports should include the name of the house, the number of the Congress, the section or page number, and the year of publication. According to rule 15.1, legislative publications, such as those from the Congressional Research Service, are credited as reports with institutional authors (c).
Each CRS document is assigned a unique identifying number by the staff of the issuing committee. This number is included in the citation for the purpose of tracking the history of the legislation under review.
The CRS website provides an online database of all current and past CRS reports. The database is updated daily so that readers have access to the most recent information.
Citing a State Law Include the bill number (A.B. for an Assembly bill or S.B. for a Senate bill), legislative body number, legislative session number or designation (if applicable), state abbreviation, and year of publication. For example, to reference California's Unclaimed Property Act: A06800-01, SB 843, 2001.
Include the bill title (if applicable), the shortened name of the house (H.R. or S.), the bill number, the Congress number, and the year of publication.
Sources include the House Legislative Branch website, www.house.gov/legislature/; the Senate Legislative Branch website, www.senate.gov/general/index.htm; and the Congressional Research Service website, www.law.cornell.edu/crs.
References must be published in print or electronic form during the current session of Congress. If a bill has been introduced but not enacted into law, then it is not valid precedent. References should be cited using the full citation method described above. The URL for any websites used as sources for research papers should be included in the reference list along with the date accessed.
Legislative acts are often revised or re-enacted over time. It is important to use the most recent version because changes can impact how courts interpret previous laws.
For example, a court might rely on one version of a statute while another version applies due to revisions made by Congress. Also, some states have additional laws that go beyond those in the federal government.
The following are the elements of a statute reference list entry, in order: