The Rulemkaing Process
Rulemaking takes place after a law is enacted. Generally speaking, legislatures set broad policy mandates by passing statutes, then agencies create more detailed regulations through rulemaking. Regulations or rules define the process by which a law is carried out.
Rulemaking goes through multiple steps, including a public comment period, before it is adopted for implementation. The infographic below shows the federal rulemaking process. Note state rulemaking follows a similar process.
Rulemaking Resources
- Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR)The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) is the codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the departments and agencies of the Federal Government. It is divided into 50 titles representing broad areas subject to federal regulation.
The Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR) is a continuously updated online version of the CFR and provides enhanced features that are not part of the published CFRThe Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR) is a continuously updated online version of the CFR and provides enhanced features that are not part of the published CFR.
The Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR) provides a way of exploring the Code of Federal Regulations as it exists today and at points in time back to January 2017.
The eCFR allows you to:
browse the Code of Federal Regulations as it existed at any point in time
compare the regulations as they existed on any two dates
view a timeline of how the CFR content has changed
search for specific terms
subscribe to changes in the regulations - Regulations.govUse Regulations.gov to search all publicly available regulatory materials and to submit comments, applications, or adjudication documents for regulations.
- ProQuest CongressionalProQuest Congressional Includes information on bills, laws, regulations, Congressional publications, current and previous Members of Congress, campaign finance information, financial disclosures, voting records, and committee membership. Also includes the full text of some Congressional reports, documents, and testimonies. Dates of Coverage: 1789 - present
- Nexis UniNexis Uni provides access to news, legal, and business sources including journals, television and radio broadcasts, newswires and blogs, newspapers, and legal sources for federal and state cases and statutes.
- Texas Administrative CodeThe Texas Administrative Code (TAC) is a compilation of all state agency rules in Texas. There are 17 titles in the TAC. Each title represents a subject category and related agencies are assigned to the appropriate title.
Hierarchical layering of links makes it rather difficult to browse. Can be searched by keyword. Includes links to Texas Register (announcements of proposed and newly adopted regulations) and to notices of Open Meetings. - Texas RegisterThe most recent six months of the Texas Register can be found on the Secretary of State’s site. Grant announcements are listed in the “In Addition” section. Issues of the Texas Register from June 1991 to the present are available from the Texas Register Archive at UNT.
