Federal Register

Background Federal legislation in the 1930s began addressing numerous economic and social problems. Federal agencies were created to formulate the regulations that were to implement congressional intent. The public needed notice of the regulations that would help govern their lives as these new regulations went into effect. Courts began to rule that these “secret laws” were a violation of right of due process under the Constitution. A centralized filing and publication system was needed.

The Federal Register Act The Federal Register Act was enacted July 26, The Federal Register Act is codified in Title 44, Chapter 15, of the United States Code Annotated ® (USCA ® ). It provides for a daily Federal Register to publish executive agency regulations and notices and presidential documents. The act was amended in 1937 to create Code of Federal Regulations, which arranges the regulations by government agency.

Publication in the Federal Register –Provides official notice of a regulation’s existence, contents, and legal effect (constructive notice) –Establishes the Federal Register text as true copy of original signed document –Specifies the legal authority of the agency –Gives regulations evidentiary status so they are admissible in court –Shows how and why the Code of Federal Regulations will be amended

The Administrative Procedure Act The Administrative Procedure Act (APA) was enacted June 11, The APA is codified in Title 5 of the USCA, sections 551, et seq. The APA provides that due process and public participation requirements must be met in the promulgation of a new regulation as published in the Federal Register.

The Administrative Procedure Act Due process and public participation requirements –Must give notice of proposed rule –Must take public comments and respond in final rule –Regulations cannot be enforced if not published in the Federal Register –Regulations cannot be effective until 30 days after publication –Must publish statements of the organization and procedure for whom to contact for comment in the agency –Must state the legal basis and purpose of the regulation

Federal Register Published every week day, except federal holidays All daily issues from a year constitute a single volume with consecutive pagination throughout the year A single issue contains about 300 pages Annual volumes of the Federal Register can exceed 60,000 pages Contents are required to be judicially noticed by 44 USCA 1507

In Each Issue of the Federal Register Table of Contents CFR Parts Affected section Presidential Proclamations, Executive Orders, Reorganization Plans, and Administrative Orders Agency Final Rules, Proposed Rules and Notices. Sunshine Act Meeting notices Unified Agenda of Federal Regulations Reader Aids

Order of Material in Each Issue of the Federal Register Presidential documents (Executive Orders, proclamations, and other documents) Rules and regulations (having legal effect) Proposed rules and regulations (text as well as regulatory agendas and notices of hearings) Notices (announcements of application deadlines or license revocations) Notices of Sunshine Act meetings

Presidential Documents Published in the Federal Register Executive Orders must be published in the Federal Register –Direct agencies to manage operations –Numbered consecutively –Reprinted annually in 3 CFR but not codified Proclamations must be published in the Federal Register –Ceremonial proclamations that recognize special occasions –Substantive proclamations that relate to international trade, export controls, tariffs, or reservation of federal lands –Reprinted annually in 3 CFR but not codified Administrative Orders and miscellaneous documents’ publication is optional

Executive Orders can be retrieved using the Find command. For example, access the Find service and enter EO Note that this Executive Order is included in the Federal Register (FR) database on Westlaw ®. Executive Orders are also included in the Presidential Documents (PRES) database on Westlaw.

Table of Contents The Table of Contents is arranged by agency name. The Table of Contents lists regulations (rules), proposed regulations (rules), and notices. Flightcrew compartment Federal Aviation Administration

CFR Parts Affected in This Issue CFR Parts Affected in This Issue lists document in numerical order by CFR title and part Appears at the front of each print issue after the Table of Contents Indicates whether documents affecting CFR parts are regulations or proposed regulations Cites the page numbers where relevant documents begin p.2112

The Final Rule (regulation) as published in the Federal Register on January 15, 2002, and amending, among other regulations, 14 CRR USCA Authority Action & Summary (f) p CFR Part 121

Reader Aids Reader Aids section is located at the back of each daily Federal Register issue in print Contains information on recent regulatory activity and new laws Includes –CFR parts affected during the current month –Reminders of regulations going into effect on the current day and comments due next week –List of recently enacted public laws –CFR customer service numbers and addresses 14 CFR 121 Reader Aids

Finding Documents in Past Federal Register Issues; Indexes Federal Register Index –issued quarterly –annual cumulative issue Central Index System (CIS) Federal Register Index Use the Federal Register indexes to find regulations that were issued after the date of the most recent volume of the Code of Federal Regulations for that agency Daily Federal Register Index to CFR Parts Affected during the current month Federal Register

Print Index This is the cumulative annual Federal Register Index for 2001 There were 67,702 pages published in daily Federal Register issues in There are many Federal Aviation Agency actions listed in this index, but the final regulation published on January 15, 2002, concerning flightcrew compartment doors will be in the 2002 issues of the index. Pages Federal Aviation Administration

Finding Documents in Past Federal Register Issues LSA LSA (List of CFR Sections Affected) –Printed each month –Keyed to CFR parts and sections –Online at Title

Final Rule as published in the Federal Register on January 15, 2002, and amending, among other regulations, 14 CFR USCA Authority Action and Summary (f)

Finding Documents in the Federal Register Database (FR) on Westlaw Use a Find request when you know issue and page number of a Federal Register document Westlaw searches in the FR database –Natural Language searching works well. –Use Terms and Connectors field searches when you need to retrieve a specific document(s) or have specific criteria as to agency and nature of document. Federal Register issues go online the same day that they appear in print. Westlaw coverage in FR begins with July, 1980.

To retrieve a Federal Register document with a known citation, access the Find service and enter 67 fr Find Citation

The first page of the first document retrieved The best portion of that document This is the same rule as found using the print index. Finding Documents with a Natural Language Search Database: FR (Federal Register) Search: security to strengthen flight-crew doors in airplanes Best

Terms and Connectors Other ways to retrieve the same update to a CFR part –Database: FR –Terms & Connectors search: pr(14 & “part 121”) & flight-crew /s door /p Title & Part Nos. Section No.

To find recently proposed regulations (rule) by an agency –Database: FR –Search: pr(“aviation administration” & proposed /4 rule) & flight-crew /s door & da(aft 2002)

Other Tips for Searching the Federal Register (FR) Database on Westlaw The Unified Agenda compiles agendas prepared semi- annually by Cabinet departments, other executive agencies and independent agencies. Each agenda includes regulations to be reviewed in the upcoming year and regulatory activity completed in the past year. To retrieve a Unified Agenda from a specific agency: –pr(“unified agenda” & “aviation administration”)

Other Tips for Searching the Federal Register (FR) Database on Westlaw Useful Fields The prelim field (PR) contains the type of document, the issuing agency and any sub-agency, docket numbers, affected portions of the CFR, and other preliminary materials The caption field (CA) contains the subject matter of the document The summary field (SU) contains a summary of the document, if available The image field (IM) is a browsable field that shows which images are available for offline printing

Table of Contents on Westlaw The current date and the last three dates of the Table of Contents appears automatically when you access the Federal Register Table of Contents database on Westlaw. You can perform a word search for other dates’ Table of Contents by editing the search. –Database: FR-TOC (Federal Register Table of Contents) –Query: da(1/15/2002) & aviation –Documents are arranged as they are in the print Table of Contents.

Database: FR Query: pr(14 /5 part /5 121) Parts Affected on Westlaw The preliminary field of each document in the FR database on Westlaw references the CFR part(s) affected.