Texas Regulations

Temporary Library Closure

Due to an asbestos abatement, Cornette Library will be closed Saturday, March 8th – Sunday, March 16th.

In-person library services will be available at the temporary Library @ The JBK Service Desk from 8 am - 12 pm and 1 pm - 5pm from Monday, March 10th - Thursday, March 13th. View Map

The library building will reopen on Monday, March 17th.

Learn how library services will be affected.

Services that will be affected.

A library service desk will be available and staffed at the south end of Legacy Hall for faculty, staff or students that need in-person help regarding research. The service desk will be closed each day from 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm for lunch.
Library staff will relocate to the Student Senate Room in the JBK during that work week (Monday, March 10th – Thursday, March 13th) and will be providing some services.
Interlibrary loan (ILL) will be affected in the following ways:
- Wednesday, February 26th – Sunday, March 16th: ILL requests for physical items will not be processed.
- Monday, March 10th – Thursday, March 13th: ILL items can be returned to the temporary service desk in the JBK at the south end of Legacy Hall.
- Monday, March 10th – Thursday, March 13th: ILL requests for database articles will not be processed.
Books placed on reserve will not be available during this time.

Services that will NOT be affected.

Chat service will still be available 24/7 during this period.
You can still reach the library by calling extension 2215. Library staff can still be reached via email during this time and by return phone if you leave a voicemail message for them and/or by contacting your library liaison.
Online article & ebook access will be unaffected by the library closure.

The library is currently undergoing renovations to increase the safety of the building. Please look at the Cornette Library Maintenance and Renovations Libguide for more information.

Regulations are used to handle the day-to-day administration of a government. Although they are not laws, regulations from Texas agencies can have the force of law, since they often include penalties for violations. They are not published in Vernon's Texas Statutes and Codes Annotated.

The Texas government publishes proposed regulations every Friday in the Texas Register.
Each entry includes the text of a proposed regulation, an address for written comments, a deadline for those comments, and (occasionally) supplementary information.
Once the deadline (at least 30 days) has passed, the agency will review all comments received and (usually) publish the final version of the regulation.
Occasionally, when changes are needed, an amended version of the proposed regulation will be published with a request for further comment.
When the regulation is then finalized, the final version is published in the Texas Register with an effective date.
Regulations that are not acted upon within six months are withdrawn.
Individual regulations are cumulated and codified into one of 16 subject titles in the Texas Administrative Code, which is revised annually.

How Do I Find Regulations on the Web?

Texas Administrative Code: Free access which is "approximately one week behind the current effective date". For example, rules with an effective date of April 1, 2015, would be included in the database on approximately April 8, 2015. Not searchable and does not include any graphics, such as tables or charts.
Texas Register: Full text of the most recent 12 months of the Texas Register. Available in two formats -- HTML and PDF. Previous years of the Texas Register are available in print (January 1976 - September 1991) in the Government Documents Unit. They are also online (1976 - present) from the University of North Texas archived Texas Register via the Portal to Texas History. While the official site includes some indexes, the back issue archive at UNT provides online keyword searching.

How Do I Find Regulations By Subject?

When looking for regulations by subject, begin with the Texas Administrative Code online. There is no subject index, so you will need to browse through the available titles looking for the most appropriate section. If that fails, try to find an article in a magazine or newspaper that refers to the regulatory information you need.

Other Guides

Legal Research Process: How to Use the TAC: Short overview from the University of Texas School of Law.
Finding Texas Regulations: Tips on how to search the TAC and the Texas Register with and without a citation. From the University of Texas School of Law.
Texas Administrative Law PDF document: A PDF pathfinder from the Thurgood Marshall School of Law Library.
Guide to using Texas Administrative Code: Short guide to using the TAC and Texas Register from Texas Tech University School of Law Library.