Chapter 3: Legislative Branch: Statutes

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This chapter will explain what the legislative branch of government does at the federal, state (PA), and local (Philadelphia) levels and link to those legislatures’ websites. It will also describe what a statute is and link to free, online access to statutory law.

What is the legislative branch?

The legislative branch is made up of persons elected by voters to pass laws or statutes.
The legislative branch for the federal government is the U.S. Congress. Pennsylvania’s legislative branch is the General Assembly.
Local governments (sometimes called municipalities) are more diverse. For example, Pennsylvania counties and townships have commissioners with both executive and legislative functions. Because the number of local government structures is so numerous, this guide will focus on the federal and state legislative branches.
The federal and state legislative branches are composed of two houses or chambers. These are often called the lower and upper chambers, though they are relatively equal in lawmaking power. The lower chamber is the more representative branch, composed of more elected persons. The upper chamber is smaller but its members serve for a longer term.
- Federal:
  - The House of Representatives is the lower chamber in the U.S. Congress. It has 435 voting members who serve two-year terms. Each state elects a certain number of Representatives based on its population. States are divided into districts from which the voters elect a Representative.
  - The higher chamber in the U.S. Congress is the Senate. This is composed of 100 members. Each state elects two senators who serve a six-year term.
- State (PA):
  - The lower chamber for the Pennsylvania General Assembly is also named the House of Representatives. This is composed of 203 Representatives elected for a two-year term.
  - The upper chamber for the Pennsylvania General Assembly is also named the Senate. This is composed of 50 members elected for a four-year term.

Statutes

What is a statute?

A statute is a bill passed by both chambers of a legislature. A bill is a legislative proposal offered by one or more members of a legislative chamber.
Statutes are published chronologically after they are passed.
- Individual federal statutes are first published as “slip laws” or in pamphlet form. Then the individual slip laws from a particular session of Congress are gathered together (as “session laws”) and published in Statutes at Large, the permanent bound publication of U.S. statutes.
- Pennsylvania statutes are first published as slip laws. Then Pennsylvania session laws are published in volumes of the Laws of Pennsylvania (which are often unofficially referred to as “Pamphlet Laws”).
Statutes are then published by topic (this is called codification).
- The topical organization of federal statutes is called the U.S. Code (U.S.C.).
- The official topical organization of Pennsylvania statutes is the Consolidated Statutes (however, not all PA acts have been consolidated, or arranged by topic, yet. These are called Unconsolidated Statutes).
  - The unofficial, but frequently used, codification of Pennsylvania statutes is Purdon’s Pennsylvania Statutes, which includes both consolidated and unconsolidated statutes.
- Code/statute titles are subdivided into subtitles, chapters, subchapters, parts, subparts, and sections. Typically, title sections are the most cited.

How is a statute created?

The process for passing a bill into law begins with the introduction of a bill. The bill is referred to a chamber committee, which is a group of chamber members who review, discuss and recommend legislation on a certain subject.
- For example, in the U.S. Congress, the Senate Committee on Finance and the House Committee on Ways and Means are the committees that review most legislation involving taxation.
- In the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Senate and House Finance Committees review most legislation involving taxation.
Each chamber must agree on the same language of a bill for it to pass and be sent to the Executive for his or her signature and become law. When both chambers pass the same version of a bill, this is presented to the Executive–the President in the case of the federal government and a Governor in the case of a state like Pennsylvania. The bill becomes law if the Executive signs it.
Of course, the process is much more complicated than described above. There are distinctive processes and exceptions in both the federal and state legislatures. For example, in the U.S. Congress, bills involving the spending of money must originate in the House of Representatives.

For more information on how statutes are created in PA, see Making Law: Pennsylvania, prepared by the PA House of Representatives.

How do statutes interact with other types of law?

Regulations:
- Statutes give the executive branch power to create rules and regulations. Every regulation is connected to at least one statute that authorizes creation of the regulation and defines the scope of an administrative agency’s power to regulate.
- In turn, the executive branch creates regulations to give more specific information on how to carry out the statutes passed by the legislature. The President and the administrative agencies under his or her control implement the statutes passed by the U.S. Congress. The Pennsylvania Governor and the agencies under his or her control implement the statutes passed by the Pennsylvania General Assembly.
Cases: Case law helps interpret and apply the statutes passed by the legislature. The courts also review statutes for their constitutionality.
- The federal courts interpret and apply statutes passed by the U.S. Congress. They also review statutes passed by state legislatures, like the Pennsylvania General Assembly, for their conformance with the U.S. Constitution.
- The Pennsylvania state courts interpret and apply statutes passed by the Pennsylvania General Assembly. The courts also review statutes passed by the General Assembly for their conformance with the Pennsylvania Constitution.

How can statutes be useful in research?

Statutes are the law as passed by the legislature and signed by the executive. Their evolution from introduction to final passage can help explain the law and what its creators hoped to achieve in passing it.

Finding Federal Statutes

Chronological Publication of Federal Statutes: Federal statutes can be found for free in multiple places online based on when they were passed. They can be found both as individual slip laws or as a compilation of laws passed by a particular session of Congress.
- Congress.gov: Find bills that have been proposed (legislation) and passed (Public Laws) by the U.S. Congress.
- Public and Private Laws (slip laws):
  - Congress.gov – Public Laws: The slip law publication of statutes passed by the U.S. Congress from the 82nd Congress (1951) to the present.
  - GovInfo – Public and Private Laws: The slip law publication of statutes passed by the U.S. Congress from 104^th Congress (1995) to the present.
- Statutes at Large (session laws):
  - U.S. Statutes at Large – Library of Congress: The session law publication of statutes passed by the U.S. Congress from the 1st Congress (1789-1791) through the 81st Congress (1949-1951).
  - U.S. Statutes at Large – GovInfo: The session law publication of statutes passed by the U.S. Congress from the 82nd Congress (1951) through the 114th Congress, 1st Session (2015).
Topical Codification of Statutes: The U.S. Code is the codified subject arrangement of the Statutes at Large. It can be found for free in multiple places online.
- GovInfo – U.S. Code: The topical organization of U.S. statutes and in force at the time of publication from 1994-present.
- Office of the Law Revision Counsel – U.S. Code – U.S. Code: Topical organization of U.S. statutes from the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives, the agency that prepares and revises the code. This contains more recent changes to law made by Congress that the code from GPO, though it is not official. 1994 – present is available.
- Cornell Legal Information Institute – U.S. Code – U.S. Code: Current edition only. Includes Table of Popular Names.

Finding Pennsylvania Statutes

Unofficial Purdon’s Pennsylvania Statutes from Westlaw: Unofficial topical organization of Pennsylvania statutes in force at the time of publication. Includes both the consolidated and unconsolidated statutes, as compiled and maintained by the editorial staff of Thomson Reuters, and made available by agreement with the Pennsylvania Legislative Reference Bureau.
Pennsylvania General Assembly: Find bills that have been proposed (bills and amendments) and passed (statutes) by the Pennsylvania General Assembly.
- Pennsylvania Unconsolidated Statutes: Chronological publication of statutes passed by the Pennsylvania General Assembly.
- Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes: Official topical organization of Pennsylvania statutes in force at the time of publication.

Finding Philadelphia Ordinances

At the city level, laws (which start as bills) are passed by the Philadelphia City Council. These laws, called Ordinances, are similar to statutes passed at the state and federal levels.
- The Philadelphia City Council Legislative Information Center provides public access to Philadelphia City Council bills and resolutions. Use the Legislation tab to run searches.
- Once passed into law, Philadelphia Ordinances are organized by topic and can be found for free online via the Philadelphia Code.

How to read a citation:

Federal Statutory Citations
- Bill Prefixes for U.S. Congress: The U.S. Congress uses bills and joint resolutions to pass statutes. Concurrent resolutions are passed by and apply only to the chambers. They do not require the President’s signature and do not become law. Simple resolutions are passed and only affect matters in a chamber.
  - H.R. – A bill from the House of Representatives
  - H.J. Res. – House Joint Resolution
  - H. Con. Res. – House Concurrent Resolution
  - H. Res. – House Simple Resolution
  - S. – A bill from the Senate
  - S.J. Res. – Senate Joint Resolution
  - S. Con. Res. – Senate Concurrent Resolution
  - S. Res. – Senate Simple Resolution
- Citation to Statutes at Large consists of the volume number, the abbreviation “Stat.” and the page that the statute begins on. For example, the citation to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is 78 Stat. 241, meaning the beginning of the law can be found on page 241 of volume 78 of Statutes at Large.
- Citation to U.S. Code consists of the title number, the abbreviation “U.S.C.” and the statutory section. For example, the citation to the prohibition against sexual discrimination in education can be found in 20 U.S.C. § 1681, meaning it can be found in section 1681 of title 20 of the U.S. Code.
Pennsylvania Statutory Citations
- Bill Prefixes for the Pennsylvania General Assembly: The Pennsylvania General Assembly uses bills and joint resolutions to pass statutes. Concurrent resolutions are passed by and apply only to the chambers. They do not require the governor’s signature and do not become law. Simple resolutions are passed in and only affect matters in a chamber.
  - House Bill (HB) – A bill introduced in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
  - House Joint Resolution (JHR)
  - House Concurrent Resolution (HCR)
  - House Resolution (HR)
  - Senate Bill (SB)
- There are different ways to cite Pennsylvania session laws. One common way is to cite the date of passage, the abbreviation P.L. (which stands for “Pamphlet Law”), and the page number on which the act begins. For example, June 17, 1976, P.L. 162 refers to a law beginning on page 162 of the 1976 volume for the Laws of Pennsylvania.
  - A similar way to cite PA session laws is: June 17, 1976, P.L. 162, No. 81. This extra piece of information at the end (No. 81) means that this act was act number 81 of 1976.
- There are different ways to cite Pennsylvania statutes. Each of the ways has a similar format in that they are composed of a title number, an abbreviation, and the section number for the statutory provision.
  - For example, 75 Pa. Cons. Stat. §3303 or 75 Pa.C.S. §3303 refers to section 3303 in Title 35 of the Consolidated Statutes. In this example, “Pa.C.S.” stands for Pennsylvania Consolidated Statute.
  - Citing an unconsolidated statute can be a bit more complicated. It might be cited as a session law (or Pamphlet Law), as described above. Another common practice is to cite to an unofficial version of the statutes using a format such as: 21 PA ST § 621 or 21 P.S. § 621. In this example, “PA ST” and “P.S.” stand for Pennsylvania Statute.

See Pa.R.A.P. 126. Citations of Authorities for more information.

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