Current State and Local Government Problems
(Public Law Research Institute)
PLRI Resources
Public Law Research Institute Homepage Includes abstracts and full text of Institute reports from Fall 1994 through current, historical indexes of the reports, and selected full text reports.
Public Law Research Institute Project Reports and Index. (Available in print at the Hastings College of the Law Library.) San Francisco: University of California, Hastings College of the Law, 1985-1997. LOCATION: KFC724.A24 H3 - 4th Floor Reading Room.
Library Resources
San Francisco Ordinances:
The San Francisco City Charter and the City and County of San Francisco Municipal Code are available at the Reference Desk. The library has also created a web site with links to all of the SF Codes available online.
California Resources:
California Bills. Assembly and Senate bills, resolutions and joint resolutions, concurrent resolutions, and Constitutional amendments from both regular and Special sessions.
Bills for 1963 to date are available in fiche in the Micrographics Room.
Bills from 1993 to current are available online, and bills from 1867 to current are available in print at the San Francisco Library.
California, Cities, Towns & Counties. Palo Alto, CA: Hornwood Press, 1987-current. (Annual publication provides basic data profiles for all California municipalities and counties.) Current edition in 4th floor reading room HA267.C3; previous years 5th Floor Stacks - HA267.C3.
California Government Telephone Directory is an online directory that can be searched or browsed.California State Constitution: A Reference Guide. Joseph R. Grodin, Calvin R. Massey, and Richard B. Cunningham; foreword by Malcolm M. Lucas. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, c1993. KFC680.1879.A6.G76 - Reference desk.
Henke's California Law Guide. 8th ed. (2006) Daniel W. Martin. LOCATION: Reference Desk KFC74 .H46 2006.
Reports, Recommendations and Studies of the California Law Revision Commission. (The Commission's annual reports and its recommendations and studies are published in separate pamphlets which are later bound in permanent volumes. The page numbers in each pamphlet are the same as in the volume in which the pamphlet is bound.) COVERAGE: 1957-1961 and 1963 to current. LOCATION: 4th Floor Reading Room - KFC27 .A3. [Also available at California Law Revision Commission homepage.]
The California Research Bureau is part of the California State Library. The Bureau performs research for the Governor's Office, members of the Assembly and the Senate, and other constitutional officers. The Bureau's web site has a searchable list of published reports, most of which are available full text.
The Witkin Legal Institute publishes highly-regarded, comprehensive, multi-volume treatises on California law: Summary of California Law, California Procedure, California Evidence, and California Criminal Law. All Witkin titles are available in the Research Alcove on the 4th Floor, KFC80.W5 2005, and on both Westlaw (database identifier: WITKIN) and Lexis (database identifier: WITKIN). Updates are available online at the Witkin Legal Institute web site.
Comparative State Law:
Book of the States: 2011. (Published by The Council of State Governments) LOCATION: Reference Desk JK2403.B6.
Council of State Governments (CSG) State Directories. (Annual, 1996/97 - current). Older editions are in the 5th floor stacks JK 2403 S71; JK 2403 S712; JK 2403 S714.
Directory I - Elective Officials - 2011.
LOCATION: Reference Desk - JK 2403 S71
Directory II - Legislative Leadership, Committees & Staff - 2011.
LOCATION: Reference Desk - JK 2403 S712
Directory III - Administrative Officials - 2011.
LOCATION: Reference Desk - JK 2403 S714State Legislative History Research Guides and State Legislatures on the Web. This site is a guide to the web-based resources available to perform legislative histories in each of the fifty states. It is available online at
http://www.law.indiana.edu/lawlibrary/research/guides/statelegislative/index.shtml/Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory. Annually updated by Lexis editors. The Law Digests provide summaries of the laws of the United States, Canada, and 73 other nations. Available on Lexis. Go to Find a Source and use "law digest" as your search terms, then choose the jurisdiction you need.
National Center for State Courts. Buffalo, N.Y.: W.S. Hein. LOCATION: Micrographics Room KF8736.A1 N37. Microform publications accompanied by printed subject index. Recent publications are available online at the National Center for State Court's CourTopics page
(http://www.ncsconline.org/WCDS/topiclisting.htm).National Survey of State Laws. 6th ed. 2008. Richard A. Leiter, editor. Detroit: Thomson/Gale. LOCATION: 5th Floor Stacks - KF242.A12 N38.
State Legislative Sourcebook 2010: A Resource Guide to Legislative Information in the Fifty States. Lynn Hellebust. Topeka, Kan.: Government Research Service. LOCATION: Reference Desk KF4933.H44 2010.
State Yellow Book. New York, NY : Monitor Pub. Co., 1989 -current. (A semiannual directory of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the 50 state governments.) LOCATION: Most recent at Reference Collection; older editions are in the 5th Floor Stacks. JK2679 .S72.
Statutes Compared: A U.S., Canadian, Multinational Research Guide to Statutes by Subject. Jon S. Schultz, 2nd ed., Buffalo, NY : William S. Hein, 2001, with supplements. LOCATION: Reference Desk. KF1.S36 2004.
Subject Compilations of State Laws. Cheryl Rae Nyberg, editor. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1981- current. LOCATION: Reference Desk KF1 .N93. Also available though HeinOnline.
State Administrative Law Bibliography: Print and Electronic Resources. Cheryl Rae Nyberg, Twin Falls, Idaho: Carol Boast and Cheryl Rae Nyberg, 2000. LOCATION: Reference Desk KF 5407 .Z95 N93.
State Agency Databases. GODORT provides links to the agency web sites for each of the fifty states at http://wikis.ala.org/godort/index.php/State_Agency_Databases.
Specialized Resources:
Congressional Research Service. Major Studies and Issue Briefs of the Congressional Research Service. 1991-2005. LOCATION: Micrographics Room JK1108.M255. The Hastings Law Library has an online subscription to full-text CRS Reports and Issue Briefs from 1994 to present. This subscription also includes an index to CRS Reports, which includes reports as far back as 1970.
For full text access to older reports, first check the Internet. Hints: try typing the title of your report, in quotation marks, in Google. If you cannot find an older report online, please contact a Reference Librarian.
The Urban Institute investigates social and economic problems confronting the nation and analyzes efforts to solve these problems. The Institute seeks to increase Americans' awareness of important public choices and improve the formulation and implementation of government decisions. Much of its research is available to the public at their web site
Journals and Journal Indexes:
Index to Legal Periodicals & Books.
Current Index to Legal Periodicals [Westlaw]
HeinOnline is a searchable, online collection of law reviews and legal periodicals in original page format. This extensive collection of newly available online legal material dates from 1885.
Proquest Research Library is a collection of journals, magazines and newspapers for information on a broad range of general reference subjects such as business, political science, art, literature and psychology.
Annuals and Surveys Appearing in Legal Periodicals: An Annotated Listing. Catherine L. Kerr. Littleton, Colo.: F.B. Rothman. LOCATION: Reference Desk KF8 .K47 1996 to 2011.
Library Catalogs
Search Hastings Online Catalog - Classic View for additional titles. Pointer: Try the "keywords" search option on the Library catalog and use the "limit" feature to restrict your search. Alternatively, you can search the Hastings Online Catalog via Encore.
Using the Hastings Law Library:
The Research Strategies for Writing Seminars web page will help you locate and request books, and provide information on electronic resources.
Search other Library Catalogs (including FirstSearch for additional print resources). Items that are found at other libraries may be obtained through Interlibrary Loan.
State & Local Legal Resources
Municipal Codes online from Municode.com, CA Municipal codes online from UC Berkeley, Inst. for Governmental Studies. Municipal codes online form the eLibrary at Codepublishing.com.
State of the Cities Data System from HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development) provides an interface to search the 1970, 1980, 1990 and 2000 decennial census data for demographic and economic characteristics. The Data System also allows searching for criminal, business, and housing data sets as well.
Library of Congress Research Center is an index of state and local government information on the Internet.
State and Local Government on the Net maintained by Piper Resources, includes Internet links to state and local government sites.
NaCo (National Association of Counties) represents county governments in the United States. NaCo advocates county issues, does public outreach on county government, and assists counties in finding and sharing innovative solutions through education and research.
The U.S. Conference of Mayors allows you to search its Best Practices of City Government site. You can keyword search recent issues in municipal government, which may include references to the enabling ordinances.
WebArchives from the California Digital Library are archives of captured web sites, including the archives of many local governments (Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, and more).
League of California Cities provides services including legislative advocacy on behalf of cities, educational programs and materials on subjects of concern to city officials, and an important research and information exchange. The League of California Cities publishes the Western City Magazine; current and archived articles and legal notes are online and searchable at http://www.westerncity.com.
The Institute of Governmental Studies Library has links to detailed information on topical subjects in California government.
The Council of State Governments, a non-partisan organization that promotes excellence in state government, maintains an index of state web pages available on the Internet and provides news about current state issues.
National Conference of State Legislatures Internet site includes information, research, and publications on critical state issues. You can track legislation in the states at National Conference of State Legislatures Legislative Tracking.
NARC is the National Association of Regional Councils. NARC serves as the national voice for regionalism. NARC advocates for and provides services to its member councils of government (COGs) and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs).
Stateline.org is operated by the Pew Center on the States, a research organization administered by the University of Richmond, and funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts. It was founded in order to help journalists, policy makers and engaged citizens become better informed about innovative public policies.
The Government Innovators Network is hosted by the John F. Kennedy School of Government's Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University. The site has news and resources on a variety of topics of interest to local and state governments, including economic and community development, health and social services, public infrastructure, and finance.
State and County QuickFacts is a source of comparative information on local government, with an easy to use subject guide.
National
Governors Association (NGA) is a policy organization for state governors. The
NGA develops policy reports on various state programs, and maintains
the NGA Center for Best Practices, which focuses on state innovations
and best practices on issues that range from education and health to
technology, welfare reform, and the environment.
Maplight.org is a "mash-up" of information on California and federal bills, combining the official bill text and the votes of legislators with data from FollowtheMoney.org. You can search by bills, legislators, or interest groups.
California Fair Political Practices Commission- "The Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) was created by the Political Reform Act of 1974 (Act), a ballot initiative passed by California voters in 1974 as Proposition 9. To meet its responsibilities under the Act, the Commission adopts and amends regulations."
Lexis and Westlaw may be useful for comparing state statutes. If you need to find all of the state statutes on a particular topic, it may be easier to first consult the "Comparative State Law" resources listed above in the "Print Resources" section of this page. However, if someone else has not previously compiled a list of all of the statutes on a particular topic, then you may need to do the research yourself. Lexis and Westlaw are both good sources for compiling lists of state statutes, bills, and regulations.
LEXIS:
All State Statutes (CODES;STCODE) - contains the statutory codes from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands
State Codes, Constitutions, Court Rules and ALS (CODES;ALLCDE) - contains the statutory codes, state constitutions, court rules and current year slip laws (advance legislative service) from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands
State Full Text of Bills, Current Session (LEGIS;STTEXT) - contains all state bills active in the current year
State Administrative Codes (CODES;STADMN ) - combines all 50 state administrative codes.
State Registers (CODES;STRGST) - combines all state registers currently available on Lexis (43 states)
WESTLAW:
STAT-ANN-ALL - contains the annotated statutes of all fifty states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands
STAT-ALL - contains the unannotated statutes of all fifty states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
ST-BILLTXT - contains the full text of all available bills (introduced, amended and enacted versions) from all states
Multi-State Administrative Codes
(ADC-ACAD) - combines state administrative codes (42 states).ST-REGTRK - contains summaries and status information concerning pending and recently adopted regulations in all states.
California Legal Information on the Internet
California State Government Website - A searchable site containing information about California and links to California state government web sites.
Research Guide: Compiling a California Legislative History - This library publication is a step by step to doing California legislative history research at the Hastings Law Library.
Official California Legislative Information is the official site for California legislative information maintained by the Legislative Counsel of California, pursuant to California law. There is a great deal of useful information available at this site including:
"Bill Information" , which includes the full text of bills, resolutions, and constitutional amendments, with status, history, votes, analyses, and veto messages. This is a great source for California legislative history information for bills from 1993 through current.
"Today's Events" , which includes the daily legislative calendar.
"California Law", which includes the current California Code.
California State Assembly and California State Senate web sites include useful directory information.
Research Guide: California Regulations and Administrative Law - This library publication is a step by step to finding California regulations, regulatory history, and administrative decisions at the Hastings Law Library.
The Judicial Council of California, the constitutionally mandated body responsible for improving the administration of justice in California.
California Code of Regulations The unofficial California Code of Regulations (CCR) web site contains the text of the regulations that have been formally adopted by state agencies, reviewed and approved by the Office of Administrative Law, and filed with the Secretary of State. The Official version known as Barclays Official California Code of Regulations, is available in loose-leaf printed format at the First Floor Library.
If you are looking for a California agency or department web site, you might want to use the list of state agencies and departments.
FindLaw California provides a short directory with links to most of the important California legal information available on the Internet.
California Government Legal Information indexed by Yahoo. This site provides links to the California Code and to various directories of California legal information.
The California Law Revision Commission is responsible for the continuing substantive review of California statutory and decisional law. Check to see if the Commission has done an active study, inactive study, or report on your topic.
California Statistical Abstract from the California Department of Finance. This has a compilation of data on social, economic, and physical aspects of the State.
Federal Government Information
USA.gov is the only official US Government portal to 30 million pages of government information, services, and online transactions.
FDsys is the official online Federal Government information service provided by the US Government Printing Office. GPO's Federal Digital System provides access to the full-text of numerous government publications including: The Federal Register; The Congressional Record; Congressional Bills, House & Senate Calendars, Congressional Reports; the Congressional Directory; Public Laws; the US Government Manual; and the United States Code.
Thomas - Legislative Information on the Internet is a service provided by the Library of Congress. It contains the full text of all versions of House and Senate bills (101st - 107th congress) , as well as the full text of The Congressional Record (101st - 107th congress) and Committee Reports (104th - 107th congress).
ProQuest Congressional (restricted to Hastings students, faculty, and staff) provides comprehensive access to US legislative histories, indexes and abstracts of congressional publications from Congressional Information Service, Inc.
ProQuest Legislative Insight (restricted to Hastings students, faculty, and staff) - includes compiled legislative histories of bills. By the end of 2012, this database will include 18,000 legislative histories from 1929 to present.
Congressional Research Service reports (restricted to Hastings students, faculty, and staff) are accessible through Gallery Watch. The Congressional Research Service provides research and analysis to the staff of congressional committees and Members of Congress. CRS experts assist at every stage of the legislative process — from the early considerations that precede bill drafting, through committee hearings and floor debate, to the oversight of enacted laws and various agency activities.
Library Assistance
Library Hours:
Monday - Friday: 8:00 AM - 11:00 PM
Saturday: 9:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Sunday: 9:00 AM - 11:00 PM
Getting Help with your Project: The Reference Librarians are available to help you plan your research strategy and to help you find the resources that might be useful in your project. It is best to call (or e-mail) one of the Reference Librarians, and make an appointment before coming in to discuss your project.
Reference Librarians:
Hilary Hardcastle, 565-4792,
Chuck Marcus, 565-4838,
Grace Takatani, 565-4808,
Vincent Moyer, 565-4752,
Tony Pelczynski, 565-4768,
Sean Kaneshiro, 565-4759,
Linda Weir, 565-4761,
Reference Desk Hours:
Mon-Fri: 8:30 AM- 5:30 PM
Sat: 9:00 AM- 5:00 PM
Classroom presentation January 26, 2012 by Linda Weir (Public Services Librarian)
Last updated Februrary 8, 2012 by Beth Gemellaro (Temporary Reference Librarian)
Prepared by Susan Nevelow Mart (former Faculty Services Librarian)