I’m in the middle of sorting through government regulations and I thought I’d pass along some definitions to help grasp just What. The. Hell. Is. The. Difference between the United States Code, U.S.C., and the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). The EPA has a website that describes the regulatory process.

• First in the sequence, bills are written, debated, and voted upon. The legislative branches write a law and the President signs it or does not. If signed the law is sent for inclusion into the U.S.C.
• Next the new law needs to be “codified” into the United States Code. This is the official compilation of US Federal law and is published every 6 years. In between publications, annual cumulative supplements are published.
• Once codified in the U.S.C., the government agency tasked with putting the law into effect (promulgation) may (or may not) rewrite the code into a comprehensible form that can be understood by the public. The relevant agency is also responsible for enforcement.

Regulations Can Expand or Evolve

If the agency becomes aware of issues in need of regulation, it may generate new regulation and place a “Notice of Proposed Rule Making” in the Federal Register for public study and comment.

After the comment period, the agency may or may not update the proposed regulation(s) and issue a Final Rule. The Final Rule is then published in the Federal Register.

Regulations are codified in the official Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). The CFR is split into 50 subject matter categories called “Titles.” An electronic copy of the CFR called eCFR and is kept online at this link.