Statutes Introduction
The following are
links to sections on this page and to state statute pages on this site.
Click on a state to go back to the page containing that state's statutes
and other laws.
Definitions
Session Law - A law enacted by a state legislature during a legislative
session that has not been codified. It may be an amendment to a statute
or an act.
Act - A law.
Amendment - A change made to a statute, act, or ordinance. These
changes are noted at the end of a statute where the citation of the amendment,
which is usually a Session Law, is noted. In North Carolina the citation
of the amendment includes the year of the legislative session the amendment
was passed, the act number, and the section of the act that amends the
statute. For example, Senate Bill number 333, where section 5 of that
bill amends a statute and that bill is passed into law in the legislature's
1999 session, would be cited as 1999-333, s. 5 at the end of the statute
it amends. Changes to ordinances are usually denoted in the codified form
of that ordinance within a city or county's code.
Statute - An act or body of acts, organized (codified) into a
body of law such as a state code; a law.
Codify - To collect, arrange, or compile laws (i.e., statutes)
into a body of law such as a code.
Attorney General's Opinion - These are opinions issued by a state's
attorney general's office in response to requests for guidance from state
or local government officials concerning particular legal issues that
arise from a statute or act that may affect the operation or administration
of state agencies and local governments. Depending upon the state, they
may be divided into categories, such as formal opinions or informal opinions
based on who they are issued to or the scope of the opinion's significance.
These opinions do not have the authority of a holding or opinion given
by a court.
Executive Orders - An order issued by a governor or the President
that has the effect of law.
The following are links: Home * Search * Page
Top * Page Bottom * Definitions * Content
and Organization *
* Viewing Different File Formats * How
To Download and Search * Navigation * Compatibility
and Use * Disclaimer *
* Maryland Statutes * New York Statutes * North
Carolina Statutes * Pennsylvania Statutes * Virginia
Content
& Organization
There are five states
covered in this website; these states are Maryland (M D), New York (N
Y), North Carolina (N C), Pennsylvania (P A), and Virginia (V A). For
each state there is a main state page, an all chapters page that contains
all statutes, attorney's general opinions, and executive orders for that
state, and four or more statute pages linked to the main page that contain
divided statutes and other material for that state. Statutes for the states
are divided into sections of chapters; i.e. chapter 1 through 5, chapter
6 through 10 and so on. Each state statutes page contains one of these
sections. At the beginning of each page there is a list of links to information
on that page. These links are named "Statutes Introduction",
"Links to Other Chapters", "Links to Statutes and Acts
On This Page", and "Disclaimer". There are three tables
on a state statute page. The first table on a statutes page is called
the Citation Index. Statutes and acts are presented in list form by citation
number starting from the lowest to the highest chapter numbers. For example
a statute such as §1-35, adverse possession, is in Chapter 1 of the
North Carolina General Statutes and will come before §106-735,
The Farmland Preservation Enabling Act, which is in Chapter 106. The second
table on a statues page is the Chapter Index which contains the chapter
numbers in the order of highest chapter number to lowest. Each chapter
number in the Chapter Index
is followed by its respective chapter name and is linked to the Table
of Statutes and Acts where that chapter appears in the table. The third
table on the statutes page is the Table of Statutes and Acts which contains
statutes, acts, state attorney general's
opinions, and which may also contain executive orders issued by a state's
governor. Information in this table is presented in the order of citation,
statute, notes on the statute, the various files that may be viewed and
downloaded for that statute, attorneys general's opinions, and files for
those opinions. A citation may be followed by the abbreviated Latin phrase
"et. seq." which means there will be more than one statute,
or section of a statute, that falls under that citation. To view a statute
file click on one of the file formats listed after the "Files"
field in the table; the available file formats for all statutes, amendments,
and attorney general's opinions are generally HTML and PDF. Notes for
a particular statute may include comments on recent amendments to a statute
as well as links to those amendments. There is not a separate files field
for amendments; instead links to files for an amendment will appear directly
after comments and the session law citation for that amendment. Attorney
General's opinions will be listed with the statute or act that they primarily
address and will appear directly after notes on the statute. The same
attorney general's opinion may appear after two or more different statutes
or a statute may have two different opinions appear after it that apply
to that statute. If there are opinions, the available files will follow
the attorney's general opinions and will be listed after the field "Opinion
Files". If "None" appears in the "Attorney General's
Opinion" field of the table then there will be not be an "Opinion
Files" field or file formats listed.. Most statutes will not have
attorney's general opinions listed. Executive Orders are listed at the
end of the Table of Statutes and Acts on the last statutes page for a
state. These orders on the last statutes page are arranged from the lowest
to highest order number. Links to executive order files will appear after
the "Files" field that directly follows an order.
The following are links: Home * Search * Page
Top * Page Bottom * Definitions * Content
and Organization *
* Viewing Different File Formats * How
To Download and Search * Navigation * Compatibility
and Use * Disclaimer *
* Maryland Statutes * New York Statutes * North
Carolina Statutes * Pennsylvania Statutes * Virginia
Viewing
Different File Formats
There a two file formats available for any statute, act, amendment, or
attorney general's opinion that is listed in the Table of Statutes and
Acts on a statutes page. They are Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and
Portable Document Format (PDF). All HTML files should be viewable in most
major browsers currently available as well as text only browsers. Also,
HTML is the only version that will be suitable for those using screen
readers to access the information in the Table of Statutes and Acts. PDF
files require the use of Adobe Acrobat Reader to view, search, download,
and print. If you
do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader click on the following icon below to
download this program:
The following are links: Home * Search * Page
Top * Page Bottom * Definitions * Content
and Organization *
* Viewing Different File Formats * How
To Download and Search * Navigation * Compatibility
and Use * Disclaimer *
* Maryland Statutes * New York Statutes * North
Carolina Statutes * Pennsylvania Statutes * Virginia
How to Download and Search
To download a file
to your computer just open the file you want to view and go to "File"
at the top of your browser and choose "Save As". Then pick the
directory on your hardrive or the drive you want to save the file to.
HTML files may be keyword searched using your browser's search function,
usually by going to "Edit" at the top of your browser and choosing
"Find in" or "Find on" the page you're on. You may
also search by using the search function on this website to find the statute
as well as any material on this site that may be relevant to it. Click
on the following link to search this site: Search.
PDF documents may be keyword searched by using the search function (click
on the binoculars icon) available in Adobe Acrobat Reader.
The following are links: Home * Search * Page
Top * Page Bottom * Definitions * Content
and Organization *
* Viewing Different File Formats * How
To Download and Search * Navigation * Compatibility
and Use * Disclaimer *
* Maryland Statutes * New York Statutes * North
Carolina Statutes * Pennsylvania Statutes * Virginia
Navigation
The Table of Statutes
and Acts on a state statutes page is long. You may scroll down the page
using your browser's scroll bar or use the Citation Index provided that
precedes the Table of Statutes and Acts to proceed directly to a statute
anywhere in the table. Click on the linked statute name in the index to
go to that statute. You may also use the Chapter Index to skip ahead to
any chapter within the table. Also use the links provided in between statutes
in the Table of Statute and Acts to navigate more quickly. These links
are "Home", "Search", "Page Top", "Page
Bottom", "Statutes Introduction", "Citation Index"
and "Chapter Index", "Table of Statutes and Acts",
and "All (insert state name) Chapters".
The following are links: Home * Search * Page
Top * Page Bottom * Definitions * Content
and Organization *
* Viewing Different File Formats * How
To Download and Search * Navigation * Compatibility
and Use * Disclaimer *
* Maryland Statutes * New York Statutes * North
Carolina Statutes * Pennsylvania Statutes * Virginia
Compatibility & Use
Please note that
attempts have been made to make the tables on statutes pages and the HTML
files made available in those tables compatible for users utilizing screen
readers and text only browsers. If any information is not accessible on
a statutes page or is accessible in a form not easy to read, understand,
or use please contact the editors by clicking on the following link: Contact
Us
The following are links: Home * Search * Page
Top * Page Bottom * Definitions * Content
and Organization *
* Viewing Different File Formats * How
To Download and Search * Navigation * Compatibility
and Use * Disclaimer *
* Maryland Statutes * New York Statutes * North
Carolina Statutes * Pennsylvania Statutes * Virginia
Disclaimer
This searchable database is intended to supply general information. We try
to insure the accuracy of this information, but cannot guarantee that this information
is accurate. Laws change quickly, and the reader should always ensure that legal
information of any sort is up-to-date and accurate before relying on it. The
legal information provided at this site is general, and not specific. The reader
should never assume that this information applies to his or her specific situation
without consulting competent counsel in his or her home state. This website
is not intended to be a solicitation. The information contained within is for
informational purposes only. Nothing herein constitutes the provision of legal
advice or services. By clicking on links on this page, you acknowledge having
read and understood this disclaimer.
|
