Once a bill is signed into law, the Office of Federal Regulation assigns it a Public Law number and Statute citation number. A Statute, also referred to as an Act, is the individual law and the number represents the order in which it became law. The text of the Public laws contain the following information:
- Public law number
- Date of enactment
- Bill number
- Popular name of the law
- Statutes at Large citation
- U.S. Code citation
- Legislative history
Citation Example for a Statute: 119 STAT. 2171
- When it was a Bill: S. 1285
- When it became a Public Law: 109-101 (the 101st law passed during the 109th Congress)
Where to Find: