states. Finally, a number of powerful federal and state laws coexist in areas such as antitrust, trademark,
employment law, and others.
Statutes
When a bill becomes a federal law, it is assigned a law number and prepared for publication by the Office of
the Federal Register (OFR) of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Public laws are also
given legal statutory citation by the OFR and are incorporated into the United States Code (USC).
Regulations
Laws differ from regulations in that laws are passed by either the U.S. Congress or state congresses.
Regulations, by contrast, are standards and rules adopted by administrative agencies that govern how laws
will be enforced.
Federal agencies often enjoy broad rulemaking authority when Congress acts to grant them this power. Called
“regulations,” these agency rules normally carry the force of law, as long as they demonstrate a reasonable
interpretation of the relevant statutes. For example, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has
established regulations for businesses and their emission and disposal of pollutants to protect the
environment. The EPA has the authority to enforce these regulations when a business violates them, and such
enforcement is usually done by fining the company or by using other means.
The Administrative Procedure Act (APA) enables the adoption of regulations, which are codified and
incorporated into the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Federal agencies frequently draft and distribute
forms, manuals, policy statements, letters, and rulings. Though these may be considered as persuasive
authority by the courts, they do not carry the same force as law. In other words, if a person or business
questions a regulation of a government agency, saying it is unconstitutional, and that party is successful in
proving it, then the regulation is not enforced and the agency will need to revise it or remove it.
State Law
America, as diverse as its fifty states, is also governed by fifty different state constitutions, state governments,
and state courts. Each has its own legislative, executive, and judicial branches. States are empowered to create
legislation that is related to matters not preempted by the federal Constitution and federal laws. Most cases
involve state law issues and are litigated in state courts.
Local Law
In addition to federal and state law, municipalities, towns or cities, and counties may enact their own laws that
do not conflict with state or federal laws.
As demonstrated, American law does not draw from one source alone; instead, it is derived from many
sources.
1.3
Important Business Laws and Regulations
Business law is a very expansive area of the law. It primarily addresses issues related to the creation of new
businesses, which arise as existing companies deal with the public, government, and other companies.
Chapter 1 American Law, Legal Reasoning, and the Legal System
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