Digitized Legal Compendium

Table of contents

• Combine State Files
  • Stacked Files
  • Rename Variables
  • Fix Encodings
  • Add Legal Compendium Fields
  • Standardize State Names
  • Fix IDs
• Fix Data Ecoding Problems
  • Example Problem Cases
  • Current Fixes
  • Save Combined Dataset
• Summary Stats
  • Recreate Legal Compendium
  • Regulation Coverage
  • State Environments
• Standardizing Citation Formats
  • EXAMPLES
    • Abbreviations
    • Code Names
    • Annotated Versions
    • Notes and Conditions
    • Multiple Sections Cited
  • Years
  • Time and Revision Fields
    • Example
  • Time Fields
    • Types of Change

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Combine State Files

Stacked Files

Rename Variables

V1	V2
Unnamed: 0.1	id1
Unnamed: 0	id2
ID-State	id3
ID	id4
STATE	state
Regulation Indicator	reg_indicator
Regulatory Type	reg_rule_label
Regulatory Type Abbr	reg_rule_abbr
Regulatory Type Full	type_body_combined
Regulatory Body	reg_body_label
State	code_state
division	code_division
Section Code	code_section1
section	code_section2
text	code_text
Year legislation originally enacted	code_year_enacted
Year legislation changed	code_change_year
Type of Change	code_change_type
Notes	notes
section original	section_original
0	v0
1	v1
Section Code Re	section_code_re
section1	section1
first_element	first_element

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Fix Encodings

When data is copied from websites or PDFs, saved in Excel, and later exported to CSV the encodings get messed up. The input text had “double mojibake” problems, meaning the encodings were mangled at least twice, usually once from copying from HTML and a second with how Excel stores text. It was especially the case with the “symbol” character used to denote statute numbers in legal citations.

These steps here ensure the text in the final dataset has a simple, standardized encoding so that text fields will not be mangled if read into stats programs.

Problematic cases look like this:

"\"(4) �\u0080\u009cpaid solicitor�\u0080\u009d means a person who is r
equired to be registered under AS 45.68.010(b), and includes a person who 
is employed, procured, or engaged, directly or indirectly, by a paid 
solicitor to solicit, if the person is compensated; �\u0080\u009cpaid 
solicitor�\u0080\u009d does not include\n          (A) an attorney l
icensed to practice law in this or another state, an investment counselor, 
an insurance company, or a supervised financial institution, to the extent 
the attorney, investment counselor, insurance company, or supervised 
financial institution advises the person on whether to make a contribution; 
or\n\n          (B) a bona fide salaried officer, employee, or volunteer of 
a charitable organization;\" AS 45.68.900"

Fixed:

“(4)”paid solicitor” means a person who is required to be registered under AS 45.68.010(b), and includes a person who is employed, procured, or engaged, directly or indirectly, by a paid solicitor to solicit, if the person is compensated; “paid solicitor” does not include (A) an attorney licensed to practice law in this or another state, an investment counselor, an insurance company, or a supervised financial institution, to the extent the attorney, investment counselor, insurance company, or supervised financial institution advises the person on whether to make a contribution; or (B) a bona fide salaried officer, employee, or volunteer of a charitable organization;” AS 45.68.900

Add Legal Compendium Fields

REGULATION TYPE (GROUP)

REGULATORY RULE

REGULATORY ACTION

Standardize State Names

Fix IDs

The new ID format base includes the state, regulation class, regulation type, and the regulatory body. For regulatory body:

• AG: At tourney General
• OT: Other
• NS: Not Specified in the LC Field

 [1] "AL-BIFURCD-BIFURC-NS" "AL-BIFURCD-REGIOF-NS" "AL-REPORTS-ASSETS-AG"
 [4] "AL-REPORTS-ASSETS-OT" "AL-REPORTS-MERGER-AG" "AL-REPORTS-MERGER-OT"
 [7] "AL-REPORTS-AMMEND-AG" "AL-REPORTS-AMMEND-OT" "AL-DISSOLV-VOLUNT-AG"
[10] "AL-DISSOLV-VOLUNT-OT"

New ID format with some added counts for data quality inspection purposes.

• n_id: number of statutes per reg (rule class + rule + agency)
• n_rule: number of statutes per reg (rule class + rule)
• n_type: number of statutes per reg group (rule class)
• n_state: number of nonprofit statutes within the state (not unique)

Note that we are currently only counting rows that contain any data. It appears that this version includes rows as placeholders (there is one row for each regulatory type, even if there is no statute within the state pertaining to the issue).

The reg_x field is a count of those that had some info on the statutes in the notes (notes seemed to be more complete than the statute text field).

#  reg_x = 1 if there were notes
#  in that row; 0 otherwise

d$reg_x <- ifelse( is.na(d$notes), 0, 1 )
d$reg_x[ d$notes == "" ] <- 0

Any case with no statute or notes listed is coded as a count of zero here. That’s different than states where the indicator is reported as “NO” in the spreadsheet (many rows did not include a YES/NO value for the indicator). We need to double-check this.

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Fix Data Ecoding Problems

Example Problem Cases

Section Numbers Converting to Dates:

§ 7-6-55  -->  7/6/1955
§ 10-3810 -->  10/1/3810

Inconsistent Input in Raw Files:

Section Code	State	division	section
552.1	oklahoma	NA	18-552-1
552.6	oklahoma	NA	18-552-6
50-22-01(2)(a)	NA	NA	NA
50-22-01(2)(b)(6)	NA	NA	NA
50-22-01(2)(b)(4))	NA	NA	NA
82.356	nevada	NA	82.35600000000001
617.1420	florida	NA	617.1420000000001
21-19	nebraska	NA	21-19-141
21-1977	nebraska	NA	21-1977
14-3-1041	georgia	part-4	14-3-1041
14-3-1005	georgia	part-1	14-3-1005
29-410.03	district-of-columbia	29-410-03	index.html
29-410.01	district-of-columbia	29-410-01	index.html

Current Fixes

To preserve statute sections as text and prevent them from being read as dates, a {SS} value is added:

• {SS}: 10A-3-5.04
• {SS}: 13A-9-71(e)
  
• {SS}: 10A-1-4.02

A universal citation field is created from:

• state_abbr
• code_label: “Code” or alternative name for state statutes
• code_annotated: is the cited text the annotated version?
• code_section: section cited

Save Combined Dataset

readr::write_excel_csv( d, "02-data-inter/ALL-STATES-FORMATTED.CSV", na="" )

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Summary Stats

Recreate Legal Compendium

state_abbr	ADMINI	AMMEND	ANNUAL	ASSETS	AUDITS	BIFURC	BONDNG	BRDRMV	CNTRCT	COMREG	CONGRE	COUNSL	CTRUST	DDONOR	DISSOL	EDUCAT	FINANC	FNDNOS	FNDYES	GOVMNT	HOSPIT	JUDICI	MEMFRA	MERGER	NONSOL	OTHTYP	POLITI	PTOEDU	REGIOF	REGIST	RELIGI	SMALLO	STATUT	VETERA	VOLUNT	VENTUR	NOTICE	THRESH	FILING	OVERSI
AK	No , Yes	No , Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No , Yes	No	No , Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	NA	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No , Yes	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL
AL	NULL	No , Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No , Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	NA	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No , Yes	Yes	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL
AR	No , Yes	No , Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No , Yes	Yes	NULL	Yes	Yes	Secretary of State	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No , Yes	Yes	Yes	$500,000	NULL	NULL
AZ	No , Yes	No , Yes	NULL	No	No	Yes	NULL	Yes	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	Yes	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	Yes	NULL	No , Yes	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	Secretary of State	*	NULL	NULL	Yes	NULL	No , Yes	NULL	NULL	NULL	Yes	Yes
CA	NA	Yes	Yes	No , Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	NA	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	$2 million	No	No , Yes
CO	NULL	No , Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No , Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Secretary of State	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No , Yes	Yes	Yes	NULL	No	No , Yes
CT	No , Yes	No , Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	NULL	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No , Yes	Yes	NULL	No	Yes	Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No , Yes	NULL	Yes	$500,000	Yes	Yes
DC	NULL	No , Yes	Yes	No , Yes	No	Yes	NULL	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	NULL	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No , Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	NULL	NULL	NULL	No	No , Yes
DE	NULL	No , Yes	NULL	No	No	No	NULL	Yes	No	No	NULL	NULL	NULL	Yes	Yes	NULL	No	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	Yes	NULL	No , Yes	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	None	NULL	NULL	Yes	NULL	No , Yes	NULL	NULL	NULL	No	No , Yes
FL	No , Yes	No , Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No , Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No , Yes	Yes	Yes	$500,000	Yes	No , Yes
GA	No , Yes	* , Yes	Yes	No , Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Secretary of State	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	$1 million	Yes	Yes
HI	No , Yes	No , Yes	Yes	No , Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	NULL	Yes	Yes	NA	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	$500,000	Yes	Yes
IA	No , Yes	No , Yes	No	No	No	No	NULL	Yes	No	Yes	No	NULL	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No , Yes	Yes	NULL	Yes	No	NA	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No , Yes	NULL	No	NULL	No	No , Yes
ID	No	No , Yes	NULL	No	No	No	NULL	No	NULL	No	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	Yes	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	Yes	NULL	No , Yes	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	None	NULL	NULL	Yes	NULL	No , Yes	NULL	NULL	NULL	No	No , Yes
IL	No , Yes	No , Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No , Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	NA	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No , Yes	NULL	No	$300,000	No	Yes
IN	No	No , Yes	Yes	No	No	No	NULL	Yes	Yes	Yes	NULL	Yes	NULL	Yes	Yes	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	Yes	NULL	Yes	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	NA	*	NULL	NULL	No	NULL	No , Yes	NULL	Yes	NULL	NULL	NULL
KS	NULL	No , Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	NULL	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	*	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No , Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Secretary of State	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	NULL	NULL	$500,000	NULL	NULL
KY	NULL	No , Yes	Yes	No	*	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No , Yes	Yes	NULL	No	Yes	NA	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No , Yes	NULL	No	NULL	NULL	NULL
LA	NULL	No , Yes	NULL	No	*	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	NULL	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	NULL	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No , Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	NA	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No , Yes	Yes	No	NULL	No	No , Yes
MA	NULL	No , Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No , Yes	No	No , Yes	Yes	NULL	No	No	NA	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	NULL	$500,000	Yes	Yes
MD	Yes	Yes	NULL	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	NULL	NULL	Yes	NULL	Yes	NULL	Yes	Yes	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	Yes	NULL	Yes	Yes	NULL	Yes	Yes	Yes	NULL	NULL	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	NULL	Yes	NULL	Yes	NULL	Yes	Yes
ME	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	*	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	NULL	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Department of Professional and Financial Regulation	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No , Yes	NULL	NULL	NULL	No	No , Yes
MI	NULL	Yes	Yes	No , Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	NULL	No	NULL	Yes	Yes	Yes	NULL	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	NA	Yes	Yes	NULL	No	Yes	Yes	NULL	No	$525,000	NULL	NULL
MN	NULL	No , Yes	Yes	No , Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	NA	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	NULL	Yes	$750,000	NULL	NULL
MO	Yes	No , Yes	Yes	No , Yes	No	No	NULL	Yes	No	Yes	No	NULL	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	NA	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL
MS	No , Yes	No , Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No , Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Secretary of State	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No , Yes	Yes	Yes	$500,000	NULL	NULL
MT	NULL	No , Yes	NULL	No , Yes	No	No	NULL	Yes	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	Yes	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	Yes	NULL	Yes	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	None	NULL	NULL	Yes	NULL	Yes	NULL	NULL	NULL	Yes	Yes
NC	Yes	No , Yes	Yes	No , Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	*	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Secretary of State	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No , Yes	No	No	NULL	Yes	Yes
ND	No , Yes	No , Yes	NULL	No , Yes	No	NULL	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	NULL	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Secretary of State	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	NULL	No	NULL	No	No , Yes
NE	Yes	No , Yes	NULL	No , Yes	No	No	NULL	Yes	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	Yes	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	Yes	NULL	Yes	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	None	NULL	NULL	Yes	NULL	Yes	NULL	NULL	NULL	Yes	Yes
NH	NULL	No , Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No , Yes	No	NULL	No	No	NA	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	$1 million	No	No , Yes
NJ	NULL	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Division of Consumer Affairs	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	$25,000	Yes	Yes
NM	NULL	No , Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No , Yes	No	No , Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	NA	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No , Yes	NULL	No	$500,000	NULL	NULL
NV	NULL	No , Yes	NULL	No	No	NULL	NULL	No	NULL	NULL	No	NULL	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No , Yes	No	No , Yes	Yes	NULL	No	No	Secretary of State	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No , Yes	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL
NY	No , Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	NA	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	750000	NULL	NULL
OH	NULL	No , Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	NULL	No	NA	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	NULL	No	No , Yes
OK	NULL	No , Yes	NULL	No	No	Yes	NULL	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No , Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Secretary of State	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No , Yes	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL
OR	Yes	Yes	Yes	No , Yes	*	No	NULL	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	NA	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	NULL	No	No , Yes
PA	NULL	No , Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Secretary of State	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	NULL	No	$300,000	No	No , Yes
RI	Yes	No , Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No , Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Department of Business Regulation	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No , Yes	NULL	No	$500,000	Yes	Yes
SC	Yes	Yes	Yes	No , Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Secretary of State	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	NULL	NULL	NULL
SD	NULL	No , Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	NULL	NULL	NULL	Yes	Yes	NULL	No	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	Yes	NULL	Yes	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	None	NULL	NULL	Yes	NULL	Yes	NULL	Yes	NULL	Yes	Yes
TN	Yes	No , Yes	Yes	No , Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	NA	Yes	Yes	Secretary of State	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	$500,000	No	No , Yes
TX	No , Yes	No , Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	NULL	NULL	NULL	Yes	Yes	NULL	Yes	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	Yes	NULL	No , Yes	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	NA	*	NULL	NULL	No	NA	No , Yes	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL
UT	No , Yes	No , Yes	NULL	No	No	Yes	NULL	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	NULL	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No , Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Division of Consumer Protection	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No , Yes	Yes	Yes	NULL	NULL	NULL
VA	Yes	No , Yes	Yes	No	*	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No , Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No , Yes	Yes	No	NA	No	No , Yes
VT	Yes	No , Yes	Yes	No , Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	NULL	NULL	NULL	Yes	Yes	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	Yes	NULL	Yes	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	NA	None	NULL	NULL	Yes	NULL	No , Yes	NULL	Yes	NULL	Yes	Yes
WA	NULL	No , Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	NULL	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Secretary of State	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	NULL	No	$3 million over the last three years	Yes	Yes
WI	No , Yes	No , Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No , Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Department of Financial Institutions	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No , Yes	No	Yes	$500,000	Yes	No , Yes
WV	No , Yes	No , Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No , Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Secretary of State	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No , Yes	NULL	NULL	$500,000	NULL	NULL
WY	Yes	No , Yes	NULL	Yes	No	No	NULL	Yes	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	Yes	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	Yes	NULL	Yes	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	None	NULL	NULL	No	NULL	Yes	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL	NULL

Regulation Coverage

State Environments

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Standardizing Citation Formats

Statutes are published in books called codes, which present laws for a particular jurisdiction arranged by subject.

Statute citations have a volume (federal) or state/municipality (local), the name of the cited code, a section, and a date:

Example: 42 U.S.C. § 7706(a) (1994). 42 = Volume that contains the statue U.S.C. = Abbreviation for the code 7706(a) = Section of the code being cited 1994 = Year the code volume was published

Universal Citation

A “media-neutral” or “vendor-neutral” citation. Generally, creating a citation to a legal source allows a reader to more efficiently locate it. The citation we provide here is one that is media-neutral and does not depend on being located in a print edition of a book.

This citation is based on the second edition of the American Association of Law Libraries “Universal Citation Guide”.

• Code State
• Code Label - name of the code publication (usually just “Code”)
• Are we citing the annotated version?
• Year
• Section1
• Section2 - end section if multiple sections listed
  
• Note (source, condition, exception)

For example:

• IA Code § 602.1614
• IA Code § 602.1614 - 602.1615
• IA Code § 602.1614 (Westlaw current through P.L. 116-193)

EXAMPLES

Abbreviations

Statutes are published in books called codes, which present laws for a particular jurisdiction arranged by subject.

In most cases there is one official “code book” (catalog of the current laws) that contains all of the individual statutes. Thus “statute” and “code” might be used interchangeably in citations or references (although technically the statute is a section within the code). Typically the statute_ref should be labeled as CODE.

• G.C. § 43-17-5 (georgia code)
• Ga ST § 14-3-1430 (georgia statutes?)
• GA Code § 14-3-1430 {universal}

The exceptions is when states have specialized codes for specific agencies or if there are multiple jurisdictions or municipalities that might enforce a law, in which case the specific code must be noted:

• Cal. Prob. Code § 141. [PROBATE CODE]
• CA Corp Code (2023) § 15903.01 [CORPORATE CODE]
• Cincinnati, Ohio, Municipal Code § 302-5.
• Des Moines, Iowa, Municipal Code § 6.3.

Code Names

In some states major divisions of the code are designated by name rather than by number. California, for example, has 28 different codes corresponding to functional areas of the law.

• Business and Professions Code - BPC
• Civil Code - CIV
• Code of Civil Procedure - CCP
• Commercial Code - COM
• Corporations Code - CORP
• etc.

Thus “CA Code § 5830” is underspecified because it could mean either:

• CA WIC Code § 5830 (Welfare and Institutions Code)
• CA PRC Code § 5830 (Public Resources Code)

Kentucky uses “Revised Statutes” instead of “Code”:

• Ky. Rev. Stat. § 367.652
• KRS § 273.320

Annotated Versions

Many codes are published in two editions – the official edition and an annotated edition with notes about related cases and articles.

• O.C.G.A. § 43-17-3 (official code of georgia annotated)
• Ga. Code Ann., § 14-3-1420
• GA Code Annotated § 14-3-1430 {universal}

Notes and Conditions

If the citation is taken from a source that requires citation, include a source field:

• IA Code (YEAR) § 602.1614 (Westlaw current through P.L. 116-193)

Should we cite the year before the Section Symbol instead of at the end to differentiate notes and sources from years, otherwise it would have double parentheses:

• IA Code § 602.1614 (YEAR) (Westlaw current through P.L. 116-193)

Do we need to add a condition or notes field as well?

• Ga. Code Ann., § 14-3-1041: only required if amending to operate for profit
• GA Code Annotated § 14-3-1041 (only required if amending to operate for profit)

Multiple Sections Cited

If the referenced sections are adjacent then add an ending section:

AND:

• F.S.A. § 496.407(1)(b) and (c)
  
• FL Statutes Annotated § 496.407(1)(b) - § 496.407(1)(c) {universal}

OR;

• F.S.A. § 496.409; F.S.A. § 496.410
  
• FL Code Annotated § 496.409 - § 496.410 {universal}

If not immediately adjacent they should be recorded as two separate rows in the data:

• Ga. Code Ann. § 14-3-1005; GA ST § 14-3-1007
• GA Code Annotated § 14-3-1005 {universal}
• GA Code Annotated § 14-3-1007 {universal}

Years

If the provision being cited is currently in effect and has not been the subject of recent change, no date element need be included. However, if the provision being cited has, by the time of writing, been repealed or amended or if it has only recently been enacted or revised, the date of a compilation that contains the language cited should be provided in parentheses.

• Iowa Code (2020) § 1606(1)(a)
• Iowa Code (2012) § 1606(1)(a) (prior to 2013 amendment)
• Iowa Code (2012) § 1606(1)(a) (eff. 7/1/2013)

Unless the citation’s context furnishes the information, a parenthetical note identifying the amending legislation and clarifying whether the citation refers to the version in effect before or after the change may be called for. The precise form this information takes will be governed by the form in which the compilation relied upon presents its “as of” date.

• GA ST § 14-3-1430 (Amended by 2023 Ga. Laws 260,§ 1-1, eff. 7/1/2023)
• GA Code (2023) § 14-3-1430 {universal}

Need to add a field to capture the bill that changed the law?

• change field: Amended by 2023 Ga. Laws 260,§ 1-1

Time and Revision Fields

Example

GA Code § 33-24-47.1 (2023)

Note that “article” is not a part of the citation.

Justia dot com Representation:

2023 CODE OF GEORGIA:

Title 33         - INSURANCE (§§ 33-1-1 — 33-66-8)
Chapter 24       - INSURANCE GENERALLY (§§ 33-24-1 — 33-24-98)
Article 1        - GENERAL PROVISIONS (§§ 33-24-1 — 33-24-59.33)
Section 33-24-47 - Notice required of termination or nonrenewal, increase in premium rates, or change restricting or reducing coverage; failure of insurer to comply

The URL Structed Similarly:

https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/title-33/chapter-24/article-1/section-33-24-47-1/

How to determine which of these updates impacted this specific law?

Also, is this a legislative reference (ID and section of the bill), not a legal reference (ID and section of the code that the bill changed): 2019 Ga. Laws 140,§ 52?

Justia dot com:

GA Code § 33-24-47.1 (2023)

Amended by 2019 Ga. Laws 140,§ 52, eff. 7/1/2019.

Amended by 2015 Ga. Laws 9,§ 33, eff. 3/13/2015.

Time Fields

Types of Change

• new law
• major change (substantive meaning change)
• minor change (minor edits to clarify intent)
• interpretive change (section not changed, but other changes impact)
• repeal of a law

Note that a repeal would appear as a new row if it is not replaced by another law:

• GA Code (2015) § 33-24-47
• GA Code (2022) § 33-24-47 (repealed)

The second entry designates a repeal of the 2015 law, the repeal passing in 2022.