Law New is a weekly column that highlights interesting legal developments, research and news. It is part of Bloomberg Law’s ongoing commitment to innovation that combines the most trusted news and analysis, AI-powered workflow tools and Practical Guidance, on one platform.
A new law is an official rule or regulation that is passed by Congress or another legislative body. It can be described as the end result of a long process of proposing, debating, and agreeing on ideas that then become an official law or statute.
When a bill is completed, the committee staff writes a report that describes its purpose and scope in detail, includes a section-by-section analysis of the proposed law, and lists any changes in existing laws. These reports are valuable resources for both courts and executive departments and provide a way to trace the history of a bill as it makes its way through the legislative process. The Congressional Record also contains committee reports that have been enacted into the Statutes at Large after they have received public law (PL) numbers. See the link to “How Our Laws Are Made” above for more information on this process.