The general rules for citing statutes can be found in Bluebook Rule 12 and the general rules for citing legislative materials can be found in Bluebook Rule 13. Table T1.3 gives the formats for citing the statutes and session laws for each state.
Rule 12.3 states that official versions of the code are preferred but not required. This rule supports citations to unofficial codes on Westlaw and Lexis. Rule 12.5 describes citing to codes on electronic databases, including Westlaw and Lexis.
Federal Statutes
United States Code
Statutes at Large
Public Laws
State Statutes
Recent Materials
Lexis and Westlaw will generally have state statutory codes and session laws from the early 1990s through the current legislative session (the exact dates covered vary by state).
Historic Materials
The LRC will not request scans of state statutes through ILL.
There are many subscription databases and public websites that contain federal legislative history materials such as bills, committee documents, and debate transcripts, including the following:
Find more information on this type of research in our Federal Legislative History guide.
State legislative history materials are often more difficult to find than their federal equivalents. For contemporary and current legislation, most available materials will be listed on the state legislatures' websites. See our California Legislative History guide for more information on this type of research in California and speak with a reference librarian for more information on other states.
