Local Government Law
Municipal Ordinances & Organizations Online
Municipal Code Corporation: Includes local ordinances.
Elibrary at Codepublishing.com
California Local Codes And Charters at the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies Library. The IGS Library maintains a large depository collection of local ordinance codes and charters issued by California cities and counties. Their web site includes a list of currently available codes and charters issued in loose-leaf format; links are provided to electronic editions, when available.
Planning Documents at the IGS Library: the IGS Library also maintains a searchable database of local planning documents. The California Resources Agency provides the full text of various city, county, and regional plans at the Land Use Planning Information Network section.
Lexis has selected municipal codes from 34 states.
Westlaw has forms related to municipal law in AmJur Legal Forms Municipal Law
The federal government's USA.gov web site has a page of Resources for State and Local Employees, developed to give state and local government officials and employees easy access to federal information on the Internet. It includes links to the National League of Cities, National Association of Counties, and International City/County Management Association. There is also a page of useful links to statistics at the state and local level.
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.
Public Technology, Inc. (PTI), is the non-profit technology organization for all cities and counties in the United States. The National League of Cities, the National Association of Counties, and the International City/County Management Association, three primary local government associations, provide PTI with its policy direction, while a select group of city and county members conduct applied R&D and technology transfer functions.
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 Western City Magazine; current and archived articles and legal notes are online and searchable on the web site.
Institute for Local Government is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization committed to making California a better place to live and work. As the research arm of the League of California Cities, the Institute engages in research and education to promote and strengthen the processes of self-governance at the regional, local and community levels.
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.
Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board has local information and information from other rent control jurisdictions.
San Francisco Municipal Codes are available on the Internet; each code is in a separate searchable database published by American Legal Publishing Corporation.
Municipal Law
Search Hastings Online Catalog for additional titles. Pointer: Try the "keywords" search option on the Library catalog and use the "limit" feature to restrict your search.
Search other Library Catalogs (including FirstSearch) for additional print resources. Items that are found at other libraries may be obtained through Interlibrary Loan.
San Francisco Ordinances:
The San Francisco City Charter and the City and County of San Francisco Municipal Code are available at the Reference Desk.
Treatises:
Antieau, Chester J., Antieau on Local Government Law, 2d ed. New York: Matthew Bender & Co., 1998- . (6 vols., looseleaf; supplemented three times annually; highly regarded treatise on local government law.) KF5300.A6 A52 5th Floor Stacks. Available and current on LEXIS.
Coates, Timothy T., California Government Tort Liability Practice, 4th ed. Berkeley,California: Continuing Education of the Bar, 1999- . KFC332 C35 Research Alcove. Available in the CEB OnLAW database.
Gelfand, M. David, Suing and Defending Cities for Federal Constitutional Violations: a Treatise for City Attorneys and Public Interest Litigators. New York: Lexis Publishers, 2005- . KF5300 .G452 5th Floor Stacks.
Krane, Dale, Home Rule in America: a Fifty State Handbook. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2001. KF5305.Z95 K73 2001 5th Floor Stacks.
League of California Cities, The California Municipal Law Handbook. Sacramento: The League, 2011. This handbook provides municipal law practitioners a ‘source of first resort' in researching a given area of California municipal law. KFC752A49 Research Alcove.
It is available in the CEB OnLAW database from 2010.Matthews, Thomas and Bryon Matthews, Municipal Ordinances: Text and Forms, 2nd ed.St Paul, MN: West Group (Clark Boardman Callaghan), 1972- (7 vols. with annual pocket supplements; guide to the law and drafting of municipal ordinances.) KF5313.M342, Research Alcove. Also available on Westlaw; database identifier is MUNIORD.
McQuillin, Eugene, The Law of Municipal Corporations, 3d ed. St. Paul, MN: West Group (Clark Boardman Callaghan), 1978- (20 vols. with annual pocket supplements; definitive work in the field of municipal corporation law.) KF5305.M34 Research Alcove. Also available on Westlaw; the database identifier is MUNICORP.
Moore, Ralph J., Municipal Legal Forms with Commentary. St. Paul, MN: West Group (Clark Boardman Callaghan), 1964-2006. (9 vols. with annual pocket supplements; commentary in each chapter includes a section entitled "Suggestions and Reminders.") KF5305.A3 M6 5th Floor Stacks. Available and current on Westlaw; the database identifier is MUNI-LF.
Sands, C. Dallas & Libonati, Michael E., Local Government Law. St Paul, MN: West Group (Clark Boardman Callaghan), 1981-2001. 4 vols., looseleaf; supplemented annually; includes extensive citations to primary and secondary authorities; an excellent treatise on local government law for both municipal attorneys and elected municipal officials.) KF5300.S26 5th FloorStacks. Also available on Westlaw; the database identifier is LOCGOVTLAW.
Singer, Norman J., Statutes and Statutory Construction, 7th ed. Deerfield, IL: Clark Boardman Callaghan, 2007- (4 vols. with annual pocket supplements. This is the latest edition of Sutherland Statutory Construction and is the leading treatise on the subject.) KF425.S9 2007 Research Alcove. Also available on Westlaw; the database identifier is SUTHERLAND.
Also see the annotations to California Code of Civil Procedure sections 1858 (Lexis) Westlaw and 1859 (Lexis) Westlaw , which govern statutory construction in California and to the maxims of jurisprudence in the California Civil Code at sections 3509, et. seq.For additional listings and evaluative information, see the section on "Municipal Corporations" in: Svengalis, Kendall, The Legal Information Buyer's Guide and Reference Manual, Barrington, R.I.: Rhode Island Law Press, 2011. KF1.S84 Reference Desk.
Specialized Publications:
California, Cities, Towns & Counties. Palo Alto, CA: Hornwood Press, c1987-current (Annual) "basic data profiles for all 440 municipalities and 58 counties." HA267.C3 4th Floor Reading Room.
Grodin, Joseph R., The California State Constitution: A Reference Guide / Joseph R. Grodin, Calvin R. Massey, and Richard B. Cunningham; foreward by Malcolm M. Lucas. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, c1993. KFC680. 1879 .A6.G76 4th Floor Reading Room and 6th Floor Stacks.
The International Municipal Lawyers Association, or IMLA, hosts a blog about local government issues. IMLA's Model Ordinance Service is now only available by subscription.It is a "comprehensive collection of model ordinances, editor's comments, annotations, and drafting guidelines covering a variety of current local government topics.".
Current Municipal Problems. St. Paul, MN : West, a Thompson Business; published quarterly. "A selection of articles and information highlighting administrative and legal issues meeting the needs of local government officials." (vol.1 (1959/76) - to date.) KF5305.A5 C87 Fifth Floor Stacks; current year at the Circulation Desk.
Municipal Lawyer. Washington, DC : International Municipal Lawyers Association; published bimonthly. (vol. 37 (1996) - to date.) KF5322.A15 M82 5th Floor Stacks; current available at the Circulation Desk.
Shepard's Ordinance Law Annotations. (St Paul, MN: Thomson/West) (Volumes with an annual softbound cumulative supplement.) "a comprehensive digest of American cases that interpret or apply city and county ordinances." KF5313.S5 4th Floor Reading Room.
State & Local Resources
State and Local Governments is a comprehensive index of state and local government information on the Internet that is maintained by the Library of Congress. The index has links to the best and most comprehensive collections of state and local government information currently available on the Internet.
State and Local Government on the Net, although not maintained by a local or state government agency, includes links to a wide variety of state and local agency web sites, and can be a useful place to look when you are looking for out-of-state information.
State and County QuickFacts is a source of comparative information on local government, with an easy to use subject guide.
The Council of State Governments, a nonpartisan organization that promotes excellence in state government, maintains an index of state web pages available on the Internet.
The Local Government Environmental Assistance Network is a site developed by a partnership of organizations, including the National Association of Counties, the International Municipal Lawyers Association, the Air & Waste Management Association, and the Public Entity Risk Institute. The site provides environmental planning, management, funding, and regulatory information for local governments.
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.
The 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.
Bill Tracking is a source list maintained by the American Association of Law Libraries, and has links to each state's bill tracking database, dates of coverage, and legislative session information.
Stateline.org is operated by the Pew Center on the States, a research organization 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.
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, human services, and the environment.
Maplight.org is a "mash-up" of information on California and federal bills, combining the offfical bill text and the votes of legislators with data from FollowtheMoney.org. You can search by bills, legislators, or interest groups.
StateMaster.com is a statistical database which allows you to research and compare a multitude of different data on US states. It compiles information from various primary sources such as the US Census Bureau, the FBI, and the National Center for Educational Statistics. The site allows you to create pie charts, maps, graphs and scatterplots. The site also has thousands of map and flag images, state profiles, and correlations.
EveryBlock.com is a multi-city municipal information "mash-up." Pick your city, put in the address and see, on one page, arrests, permits, zoning agendas, inspections, reviews and other targetted information.
Comparative State Law:
Book of the States. (Published by The Council of State Governments) LOCATION: Reference Desk JK2403.B6.
Council of State Governments (CSG) State Directories. (Annual, 1996/97 - ).
Directory I - Elective Officials - 2011.
LOCATION: Reference Desk JK 2403 S71
Directory II - Legislative Leadership, Committees & Staff - 2010.
LOCATION: Reference Desk JK 2403 S712
Directory III - Administrative Officials - 2011.
LOCATION: Reference Desk JK 2403 S714State Trends: Measuring Change Across America. (Published by CQ Press) Gives comparative information on a range of topics for each state. LOCATION: 5th Floor Stacks HA203 .S735 (2008).
State Legislative History Research Guides and State Legislatures on the Web. This site is a guide to the web-based resources available to find legislative histories in each of the fifty states.
Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory. Annualy updated by Lexis editors. The Law Digests provide summaries of the laws of the United States, Canada, and 73 other nations. Available on Lexis.
National Center for State Courts. Recent publications are available online at the National Center for State Court's Topics page.
National Survey of State Laws. 6th ed. 2008. Richard A. Leiter, editor. Detroit : Thomson/Gale. LOCATION: Reference Desk 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 (2011) in the Reference Collection; older editions are in the 5th Floor Stacks. JK2679 .S72.
Subject Compilations of State Laws. Cheryl Rae Nyberg, editor. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 1981- current. LOCATION: Reference Desk KF1 .N93. Also available though Hein-on-Line.
California Resources on the Internet
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.
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 looseleaf printed format at the Hastings Law Library at the Reference Desk. The Building Code (Title 24) is now available online at the Building Standards Commissions site.
California Attorney General Opinions from 1986 to current are available at the Office of the Attorney General Website and can be searched by word, phrase or opinion number (e.g., 01-107). There is also a monthly opinion report current for pending assignments and activities of the Opinion Unit with links to newly issued opinions. Attorney General Opinions from 1943 to current are available in the 4th Floor Stacks (KFC780 .A55) and from 1852 to 1943 in Micrographics (KF5406.A619 A88).
Lexis is the official publisher for California case law, and as part of its obligations as the publisher, Lexis makes the full-text of all California cases available on line through the California court's website. Lexis search logic can be used to search the database. See California Cases (1850-present).
FindLaw California provides a short directory with links to most of the important California legal information available on the Internet
The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) has information and links about local projects on current issues.
California Government Legal Information is indexed by Yahoo. This site provides links to the California Code and to various directories of California legal information.
The Hastings California Ballot Measures Database includes the California Ballot Propositions Database, a comprehensive, searchable source of information on California ballot propositions from 1911 to 2000 (limited amounts of information for 2001-2003).The California Ballot Initiatives Database is a comprehensive, searchable source of information on California ballot initiatives from 1911 to 2000. For current information and full text of Inititatives (2004- current) consult the website of the California Attorney General. For current information and full text of Propositions (1996- current) consult the website of the California Secretary of State .
Docket information is available for the California Supreme Court and the Courts of Appeal on the California Courts web page.
Docket information for the superior courts in California may be available online from individual court web sites. You can find a superior court web site through the California Courts' Find A Court page.
To search state or federal law for free, try Google Scholar: the advanced search page willl allow you to limit your search by jurisdiction.
Federal Government Information
GPO
Access is the official online Federal Government information service
provided by the U.S. Government Printing Office. GPO Access 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 U.S. Government Manual; and the
United States Code. The new digital access platform, FDSys currently provides access to:
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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 from the 101st Congress through the current ; Congress, as well as the full text of The Congressional Record since the 101st Congress. Thomas also includes Committee Reports and numerous historical congressional documents.
For updates on current bills, try govtrack.us: Tracking the U.S. Congress.
LexisNexis Congressional is a subscription database available only at Hastings. It includes bills, hearings, testimony, full legislative histories, and related Federal publications, many of which are full text.
Prepared by Susan Nevelow Mart, Faculty Services Librarian and Linda Weir, Public Services Librarian.
Last updated by Beth Gemellaro, Temporary Reference Librarian on February 3, 2012.
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