Regulations and statutes

All businesses need to adhere to the laws and regulations that apply to their situation. The Kansas City Public Library has resources that can get you started on your legal research; however you might need to consult a licensed attorney for additional information. Because each business is unique, this guide will not be able to address all of the needs or questions that you might have. This guide is intended to introduce you to the key sources of reading statutes and regulations.

Statutes

Laws are written on both the state and federal level.

• Missouri
  The Missouri General Assembly, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate, is the body that enacts Missouri laws. These laws are made available both in print and online.

• The Revised Statutes of the State of Missouri are found in the Reference Department of the Central Library at call number REF 345 MO1.
• They can also be viewed online at the Missouri General Assembly [1] website. The statutes are searchable by keyword or by statute number.
• Vernon’s Annotated Missouri Statutes [2] will provide you with interpretation of the laws as well as notation as to legislative changes.

• Federal
  The federal statutes are also available in print and online.

• The United States Code can be found in the Reference Department of the Central library using the call number of REF 345 U584. It is also available online [3]. Here you can search the laws going back to 1994. Searching is done by keyword, law number or statute number.

Regulations

Regulations are the rules that are established in order to carry out the intent of legislation. As with the statutes, there are both state and federal regulations.

• Missouri
• The State of Missouri State Regulations in paper format are located in the Reference Department of the Central Library. They can be found using the call number REF 348.778 S797.
• The Missouri Code of State Regulations [4] is also found electronically on the Missouri Secretary of State’s website. The Secretary of State warns that the online copy is not the official copy. Current as well as historical editions of the regulations are searchable.

• Federal
• The paper version of the Code of Federal Regulations is located in the Central Library’s Reference Department under the call number of REF 348.73 C669
• The Code of Federal Regulations [5] is also found on GPO Access. You can search by keyword or by title number.

The Library has a number of additional books regarding business law in general. A selected list of titles is:

Legal Guide for Starting & Running a Small Business [6] by Fred Steingold

A Guide to ADA and FMLA [7] by Ford and Harrison

Working For Yourself: Law and Taxes for Independent Contractors, Freelancers and Consultants [8] by Stephen Fishman

Employment Law [9] by Benjamin W. Wolkinson

For additional information, contact an H&R Block Business & Career Center librarian by phone, 816.701.3717, or by e-mail, bcc@kclibrary.org [10].