United States Statutes at Large

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The United States Statutes at Large or simply Statutes at Large is a publication of the United States federal government, defined by the U.S. Government Publishing Office as "the permanent collection of all laws and resolutions enacted during each session of Congress." The Statutes at Large constitute legal evidence of legislation enacted by Congress. The Office of the Federal Register prepares and publishes the Statutes at Large in collaboration with the Government Publishing Office.[1]

Background

The Statutes at Large have been published since 1845 by several different organizations. The statutes were originally published by a private firm, Little, Brown and Company, under authorization from the 28th Congress. This arrangement lasted until 1874, when the responsibility for preparing and publishing the Statutes at Large was transferred to the Government Publishing Office (GPO). In 1950, this responsibility was transferred again to the Office of the Federal Register (OFR) and the General Services Administration. Since 1985, the Statutes at Large have been prepared and published by OFR and GPO under the authority of the National Archives and Records Administration.[1]

According to the Government Publishing Office, the printed version of the Statutes at Large constitute "legal evidence of the laws, concurrent resolutions, proclamations by the President, and proposed and ratified amendments to the Constitution" under 1 U.S.C. 112.[1]

Content

Laws published in the Statutes at Large are ordered based on the date of their enactment. Citations to the statutes are made by volume and page number. Each edition of the Statutes at Large contains the following documents:[1]

  • All public and private laws passed by Congress
  • Concurrent resolutions
  • Presidential proclomations
  • Proposed and ratified constitutional amendments
  • Reorganization plans

Treaties and international agreements passed by the United States Senate were included in the Statutes at Large until 1948.[1]

See also

External links

Footnotes