This page contains descriptions for the content types listed on the Advanced Search page of Regulatory Insight. Read the descriptions to learn more about the content types featured in the product.
Agency view provides a view of historic rulemaking by an agency. It includes Final Rules as published in Federal Register articles. These final rules pertain to Code of Federal Regulation parts this agency has jurisdiction over.
Agencies that are currently engaging in rulemaking (e.g. within the last 2 years) will also contain a link to obtain all proposed and final rules issued by the agency in the last 2 years.
Content and metadata included in each Agency View:
The summary includes:
Final rules:
Agency View compiles Federal Register articles containing final rules for CFR parts the agency has jurisdiction over.
Each Federal Register article includes a link to a fully searchable PDF.
By default the Federal Register articles are organized by CFR Part. Note: an FR article may appear in more than one CFR part and will display accordingly.
Within each CFR part, the final rules are displayed together, organized by RIN or Docket Number. If there are multiple FR articles with the same RIN or Docket Number, the earliest final rule will display, with a link to see Additional actions. We will then will display the additional FR articles (corrections, etc.).
Please note: many agencies issue a very large number of final rules. If an agency has a large number of rules, the page may also be organized hierarchically, such that you will first choose the Title or CFR part before displaying the relevant FR articles.
Changing the default from CFR part to chronological sort will produce a simple chronological display, either from oldest to newest, or the reverse.
Using the Filters:
You can filter the list of final rules to those associated with a specific CFR part, pertaining to a specific subject, or by date
Searching Within a History:
You can search within the text of associated Federal Register articles to locate those that mention specific terms
The Code of Federal Regulations is the subject based codification of the final rules published in the FR. It lists the FR source for the regulations, as well as the legal authority. Each Regulatory History associated with a Public Law includes links from the final rules to the CFR Part Affected.
The CFR is the codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government. It is divided into 50 titles that represent broad areas subject to Federal regulation. Each volume of the CFR is updated once each calendar year and is issued on a quarterly basis on a staggered schedule:
The CFR is organized by Title (broad subject area); Chapter (rules of an individual agency); Part (rules on a single program or function); Section (rules on one provision of program/function); and Paragraph (detailed, specific requirement). Sections may contain up to 6 levels of paragraphs.
CFR Parts and Sections include Authority notes citing the US Code or other legal authority for the rule; and Source notes citing the specific FR articles that provide the relevant final rules. There is not always a separate authority for each section; a single Authority note can apply to an entire Part.
Regulatory Insight includes:
The Federal Register (FR) publishes Presidential Documents, Notices, Proposed Rules, and Rules. The proposed rules and final rules cite the sections of the CFR that the rulemaking proposes to affect and then finally does affect when it is finalized. Each Regulatory History associated with a Public Law contains fully searchable PDFs of each Federal Register article related to the rulemaking process associated with the law.
The FR is published by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). It is the official "gazette" of the United States Government giving documents from resource evidentiary status. FR is published every federal business day; but not on federal holidays or weekends.
Regulatory History – Executive Order
Regulatory histories associated with an Executive Order are compilations of Federal Register articles associated with a specific Executive Order. These histories are compiled by human researchers. Once the history is compiled, the editorial team reviews the compilation for accuracy.
The summary includes:
Each Federal Register article includes a link to a fully searchable PDF. Each final rule includes a link to the version of the CFR contemporaneous with the FR article.
By default the Federal Register articles within a regulatory history are organized into department/agency groupings so that all of the proposed rules issued by a single department/agencies are displayed together. Within the department/agency grouping, the proposed and final rules for each rulemaking are displayed together, organized by RIN, whenever possible, or Docket Number. Changing the default from agency to chronological sort will produce a simple chronological display, either from oldest to newest, or the reverse.
Using the Filters
You can filter the list of Federal Register articles to those associated with an agency of interest, or those belonging to a specific category (for instance, Proposed Rules).
Searching Within a History
You can search within the text of associated Federal Register articles to locate those that mention specific terms
Regulatory histories associated with a public law are compilations of Federal Register articles associated with a specific public law. These histories are compiled by human researchers. The first thing that happens is that all FR articles that mention a law specifically by citation, short title, popular name, cited act or any other way that refers specifically to the law are brought together for review by the researcher who examines each article to determine whether or not it is directly associated with the law. An article that says something like “P.L. 111-XYZ was enacted since this rulemaking began, but was not considered in the making of this rule” would obviously not be included, but many things are taken into account as the decision to include/exclude is made. In addition to consulting the text of the Federal Register articles, researchers check such sources as the C.F.R., the Public Law text, and, at times, the Parallel Table of Authorities and Rules. Once the history is compiled, the editorial team reviews the compilation for accuracy.
These histories are organized by Public Law number to facilitate the ability of researchers interested in combining regulatory history research with P.L.-based legislative history research to follow the trail from the first bill introduced through the enactment of a law to the final rule promulgated. Users with access to Legislative Insight, the companion product, will be able to link back and forth between the two products, although this functionality will not be fully in place at the time of the initial launch.
Content and metadata included in each regulatory history associated with a Public Law:
The summary includes:
Regulatory histories associated with a Public Law compile Federal Register articles from rulemakings directly associated with that Public law. Each Federal Register article has been selected for inclusion in a regulatory history by a ProQuest legal researcher on the basis that it is directly associated with the Public Law.
Each Federal Register article includes a link to a fully searchable PDF. Each final rule includes a link to the version of the CFR contemporaneous with the FR article.
At default the Federal Register articles within a regulatory history are organized into department/agency groupings so that all of the proposed rules issued by a single department/agencies are displayed together. Within the department/agency grouping, the proposed and final rules for each rulemaking are displayed together, organized by RIN, whenever possible, or Docket Number. Changing the default from agency to chronological sort will produce a simple chronological display, either from oldest to newest, or the reverse.
You can filter the list of Federal Register articles to those associated with an agency of interest, or those belonging to a specific category (for instance, Proposed Rules).
You can search within the text of associated Federal Register articles to locate those that mention specific terms
Agencies issue guidance and policy documents. These important documents inform agency decisions, clarify regulations with simpler language, and tell consumers and organizations how to comply with regulations.
Linking to related regulations
Where possible, guidance documents provide links to related regulations and regulatory histories of associated public laws. Links will be visible in the Details section of the document page.
Citing and locating original source
Guidance and Policy documents are obtained from agency websites. To identify where a specific guidance document came from, click on the Agency Source URLs link at the bottom of the document page. You can also see the date the document was acquired.
Note that agency websites are updated and guidance documents may be archived or deleted from the agency site. ProQuest will retain those archived or deleted guidance documents we have previously acquired.
Format availability
Initially we are providing guidance documents that are available in PDF format, but in subsequent releases will also add guidance documents in HTML format.
Prior to the publication of the Federal Register in the 1930s, the federal government issued regulations through other forms of publication. These are referred to as Historic Regulations in ProQuest Regulatory Insight.
These curated pages compiled by Regulatory Insight editors provide users with a place to both start and continue their research, as well as a place to begin teaching and learning about specific areas of administrative law. Each page includes a timeline featuring selected Public Laws, Executive Orders, and Supreme Court cases with related regulations. Topics include banks and banking, civil liberties, clean air, countering domestic and international terrorism, health care system reforms, immigration system, renewable energy sources, water pollution, and more. Topic Pages provide curated examples and are not meant to be exhaustive.