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Guide - California Regulations and Administrative Law This guide includes: General information
about California regulations and administrative law
As a general rule, regulations are
different from statutes: regulations are enacted by administrative
agencies, while statutes are enacted by the legislature (or by voter initiative).
The authority to adopt, amend, and repeal regulations is granted to an
agency by either constitutional provision or statute. When exercising
this authority, agencies must follow the procedures set forth in the California
Administrative Procedure Act (Government
Code §§ 11340 et. seq.).
This guide outlines how to locate and update California regulations.
Regulation citations include a title number, publication name, and section. Examples:
If you have a citation to a regulation, it is easy to find the appropriate title and locate the section. Regulatory materials are compiled in the California Code of Regulations (CCR). The CCR is divided into the following 28 titles, which are subdivided into divisions, parts, and sections:
Barclay's Official Code of California Regulations (CCR) KFC 35.A220. The current CCR is located in the 4th Floor Stacks. The Building Codes in volume 24 are published separately and are kept at the Reference Desk(KFC35.A22). A few regulations are not included in the CCR. For example, the print version of a few provisions in Title 10, Article 7 (such as sections 2350 et seq.) must be obtained from the Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau. Barclay's publishes a Master Index to the current CCR. It is the last two volumes in the set. One volume contains statute to regulation tables; the second volume contains a subject index. The subject index is the place to look if you do not have a citation to a regulation. The current CCR may be found online at http://www.calregs.com . Title 6 (Governor) and title 24 (Building Codes) are not included on this web site. This web site. also allows you to find regulations by looking up the relevant administrative agency (e.g. Department of Consumer Affairs) or by searching specific section numbers. This searchable database is updated weekly, and includes helpful instructions. Title 24 is divided into parts, and part 1 (Building Standards Administrative Code), part 7 (Elevator Safety Construction Code), part 8 (Historical Building Code), and part 12 (Reference Standards Code) are available online in PDF format at http://www.bsc.ca.gov/title_24/t24_2001tried.html. The CCR (titles 6 and 24 are
not included) is also available on Lexis and Westlaw: The Internet version of the CCR
and the versions on Westlaw and Lexis are all searchable full text.
Updating Regulations and Finding Proposed Changes to Regulations: The California Regulatory Code
Supplement (Digest of New Regulations) KFC35.A22 The California Regulatory Notice Register (Z Register) KFC35 .A23 The Z Register began publication in 1974, and information from the 1974-1978 registers is available at the California State Library. The California Regulatory Notice Register (Z Register) is also available on the Internet at http://www.oal.ca.gov/reg_notice.htm . The site has full text registers from January 1, 2001 to current. Shepard's California Citations KFC 59.55 Online Resources: Lexis: Search in CAL;RGALRT
for tracking the full text of proposed, amended, or final regulations;
updated daily. November, 1997- current. Approved and proposed
changes in Building Code standards may be found at the Building Standards
Finding Administrative Decisions and Opinions of the Attorney General: Administrative Decisions State agencies conduct quasi-judicial hearings. For an overview of this process, see California Administrative Hearing Practice (KFC780 .C362 Research Alcove). The State Administrative Manual (SAM) is a reference source for statewide policies, procedures, regulations and information (KFC35 .A25 Reference Desk). The manual is available on the Internet at http://sam.dgs.ca.gov/default.htm Using the Hastings Online Catalog, you may find administrative decisions by searching by author: type in "California [Name of agency]" The Hastings Library has the following current administrative decisions:
Online Databases: Check the California administrative materials libraries in Lexis (under California Administrative Files) and in Westlaw (under California Administrative Law) for the names of the individual databases and dates of coverage for administrative appeals board rulings and decisions. Not all agencies publish their decisions.
For a listing of agencies which do publish their decisions, see
Martin, Henke's California Law Guide,
5th edition, p. 221-28. Opinions of the California Attorney General: The Opinions of the California
Attorney General (Department of Justice) from 1943 - current are available
in the 4th Floor reading Room (KFC780.A55). Attorney General opinions from 1852-1942 were not published officially,
but are available on microfilm.
Finding Superseded Regulations and Regulatory History: The California Code of Regulations and Barclay's Official California Code of Regulations may be used to find changes made 1977-current. One way to find changes is to check the History note at the end of the
section. Note the year and register number (e.g. 1992 reg 24). If the
note is not at then end of the section, try the end of the preceding section,
the end of the first section in the article, or the end of the first section
in the title. You can use the history note to find out the effective date
of the regulation, and to get references to earlier versions of the regulation.
You can then look up these references in the appropriate year of the CCR.
Sometimes this works perfectly. However, not all regulatory changes make
it into the notes. If you can't find the earlier references this way,
try the next hint. There is also a handwritten guide to the register of all the changes made to each title, by agency, from 1945 to 1990. Legislative Research, Inc. has made these handwritten cards available online at http://www.lrihistory.com/documents/MagicDrawerIndexandCards.pdf. The only searchable text is the title information (search = Title 13). Then review the card entries. The entries do not list individual regulations, so you will have to search each register to see if your regulation was affected. However, you can cross-reference the card entries with the list of changes you have found with your previous search. California Codes of Regulations (and its predecessor, the California Administrative Code) from previous years may be found in Micrographics, KFC35 .A2 1945- current. (Cabinets 17-18). The California Regulatory Code Supplement (Digest of New Regulations)
Hint: If you are using the microfiche set, the Regulatory Code Supplement for each year is located behind the tab marked "Register." [Note: for the years 1988-1990, you can also check the volumes marked CCR Decisions (KFC25.A2) in the 6th Floor Stacks. Some additional information about your regulation may have been separately published in these volumes.] The UMI Comprehensive Index (Comprehensive Index, California Code of Regulations) may be useful for finding the changes to a particular section from 1981 to 1999 (ceased). The volumes are shelved in the Micrographics Room (KFC 35.A24). The California Regulatory Notice Register (Z Register) KFC 35.A23
4th Floor Stacks [1979 - CURRENT]. Barclay's Law Monthly KFC57.B32
6the Floor Stacks [1990-1996, ceased]
San Francisco Public Library (100 Larkin Street) http://sfpl.org/ Holdings include the CCR from 1990 - current and the Z Register from 1988 - current. The Public Library is an official state depository, so they hold many published agency decisions. San Francisco Law Library (Van Ness and McAllister/ fourth floor, War Memorial Building) http://sflawlib.ci.sf.ca.us/ Holdings include the CCR from 1941 - current, and the Z Register from 1982 - current The SFLL does not hold any published agency decisions. California Office of Administrative Law http://www.oal.ca.gov/ The process by which rules become regulations is governed by the Administrative Procedure Act (Government Code §§ 11340 et. Seq.) (available online at http://www.oah.dgs.ca.gov/Laws/default.htm.) For more information on Administrative Procedures, call the Office of Administrative Law Reference Attorney at 916-323-6815. Go to the Agency's Web Page: Agencies frequently have information about their policies, procedures, guidelines, and emergency regulations online. An example is at the Department of Toxic Substance Control at http://www.dtsc.ca.gov/.
Last updated
September 6, 2007.
Prepared by Susan Nevelow Mart, Reference Librarian. Contact 
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