Policy trackers, policy surveillance, and 50-state Comparisons
Navigating state law can be complex, as each jurisdiction has its own statutes, regulations, and judicial interpretations.
Policy Trackers provide real-time updates on legislative and regulatory changes, helping researchers and policymakers monitor evolving legal landscapes.
Policy Surveillance is a systematic approach to tracking policies of public importance over time that supports legal epidemiology by creating datasets that allow for scientific evaluation and policy impact analysis.
50-State Surveys are comparative legal research tools that compile laws from all 50 states on specific topics, offering a broad perspective on how different jurisdictions approach similar legal issues.
General policy trackers, policy surveillance, and 50-state surveys
Database version of Rich Leiter's National Survey of State Laws. Provides an overall view of some of the most sought-after and controversial legal topics in the United States. Users are able to make basic state-by-state comparisons of current state laws. The new 7th edition, along with the 6th and 5th editions, are included in database format, which also allows users to compare the same laws as they existed in 2005, 2008 and 2015
Comprehensive source for identifying articles, books, government documents, loose-leaf services, court opinions and Internet sites that compare state laws on hundreds of subjects
LexisNexis 50 State Surveys, Statutes & Regulations provide instant comparison of states' treatment of topical issues, linked to governing provisions on Lexis and prefaced by an examination of federal context and state themes.
The ULC promulgates more than uniform and model acts on numerous subjects including commerce, family and domestic relations, real estate transactions, trusts and estates, and alternate dispute resolution. Browse or search acts to see which states have enacted these laws, or view legislative activity to see which states have introduced them.
Justia has compiled the state laws in a variety of areas into an easily digestible format so that consumers and researchers can compare the differences between laws of different states on those topics.
Another way to search is to type ("50 state" OR "fifty state") AND [keywords] into the search box in Nexis Uni or HeinOnline.
Policy trackers, policy surveillance, and 50-state surveys by topic
Review the laws in each state on various public health policy topics. Broad topic areas include:
Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs
Chronic Disease
Disabilities
Environmental Health
Food Safety
Health Communication and Information Technology
Health Services
Housing
Infectious Disease Prevention and Control
Injury and Violence Prevention
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Health
Maternal, Infant and Child Health
Mental Health and Mental Disorders
Occupational Safety and Health
Oral Health
Preparedness
Public Health Infrastructure
Reproductive and Sexual Health
Social Determinants of Health and Health Disparities
State and Local Governance
A comprehensive database of policy and public health data for researchers, policymakers, and community advocates. Filter by topic and then by data type. Policy Data refers to codified laws, regulations, and other policy-relevant data. Topics include:
Aging & Health
Alcohol, Tobacco, & Substance Use
Environmental Policy & Health
Food & Nutrition Policy
Health Conditions & Behaviors
Health Care System
Health Disparities & Equity
Infectious Disease
Maternal & Child/Youth Health
Mental & Behavioral Health
Prevention & Surveillance
Social Determinants of Health
NCSL’s Statewide Ballot Measures Database includes all statewide ballot measures in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, starting over a century ago. New measures are added as they are certified and identified by NCSL staff. Each entry contains the ballot number, title, type (legislative referendum, initiative, popular referendum, other), status, and summary. Covers all states and goes back as far as 1902.
The Classification of Laws Associated with School Students (CLASS) protects the well-being of students by monitoring, classifying, and evaluating physical education and nutrition policies across the United States.
The CRT Forward Tracking Project (FTP) identifies, tracks, and analyzes local, state, and federal measures that attempt to restrict access to truthful information about Critical Race Theory (CRT), race, and systemic racism. To demonstrate the breadth of anti-CRT measures across the country, FTP provides a comprehensive database of anti-CRT measures across all levels of government and varying types of official action.
RAND's Gun Policy in America initiative aims to establish a shared set of facts about the effects of gun laws to improve public discussions and support the development of fair and effective gun policies.
Data and Tools include:
Changes in State Firearm Mortality
Firearm Injury Hospitalizations in America
Firearm Law Effects Tool
Firearm Restrictions Outcomes
Gun Ownership in America
Gun Policy Expert-Opinion Tool
State Firearm Law Navigator
State Firearm Mortality Explorer
Data
Inpatient Hospitalizations for Firearm Injury
State-Level Estimates of Household Firearm Ownership
State Firearm Law Database
The NASBE State Policy Database on School Health is a searchable database of all existing state statutory and regulatory language on student health aligned to components of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s framework for school health promotion, known as the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model.
The Guttmacher Institute monitors and analyzes state policy developments in the United States—including legislative, judicial and executive actions—on a broad range of issues related to sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Open Data & Democracy Tools include: Search & Track Legislation (bill tracker), Find Your Legislators, and bulk state legislator data and state bill & vote data available for download and via API. Plural describes itself as a policy-tracking platform that uses artificial intelligence to make policy creation more transparent, responsive, and inclusive. In 2021, it adopted the defunct Sunlight Foundation's legacy Open States tools as their Open Data & Democracy Tools.
50-state bill tracking site with info about federal and state bills and legislators. The free "citizen" tier includes the ability to search and share unlimited bills in the current session.
Full text of law reviews/legal periodicals plus primary sources such as the Code of Federal Regulations; Federal Register; Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS); Treaties and Agreements Library; United States Code; U.S. Attorney General Opinions; U.S. Congressional Documents; U.S. Federal Agency Documents, Decisions, and Appeals; U.S. Federal Legislative History Library; U.S. Statutes at Large; State Session Laws Library; State Statutes: A Historical Archive; Acts of the Parliament of Canada (Annual Statutes); World Constitutions Illustrated; World Treaty Library. Also includes special topics databases.
Canadian Content
Acts of the Parliament of Canada (Annual Statutes)
Provincial Statutes of Canada
Case Law
Preview of United States Supreme Court Cases
U.S. Supreme Court Library
International Resources
Acts of the Parliament of Canada (Annual Statutes)
Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS)
History of International Law
Law Library of Congress Reports
Open Society Justice Initiative
Provincial Statutes of Canada
U.S. Treaties and Agreements Library
World Constitutions Illustrated: Contemporary & Historical Documents and Resources
World Treaty Library
International Treaties and Agreements
U.S. Treaties and Agreements Library
World Treaty Library
Journals and Periodicals
Bar Journals
Law Journal Library
NOMOS: American Society for Political and Legal Philosophy
Preview of United States Supreme Court Cases
Special Collections
Air and Space Law
American Enterprise Institute (AEI)
Brennan Center for Justice Publications at NYU School of Law
Business and Legal Aspects of Sports and Entertainment (BLASE)
COVID-19: Pandemics Past and Present
Cataloging Legal Literature
Civil Rights and Social Justice
Criminal Justice & Criminology
Democracy in America
Gun Regulation and Legislation in America
Indigenous Peoples of the Americas: History, Culture & Law
John F. Kennedy Assassination Collection
LGBTQ+ Rights
Labor and Employment: The American Worker
Law Academy Project
Legal Classics
Military Legal Resources (U.S. Army JAG School)
Military and Government
National Defense University Press Publications
NOMOS: American Society for Political and Legal Philosophy
Open Society Justice Initiative
Pentagon Papers
Religion and the Law
Reports of U.S. Presidential Commissions and Other Advisory Bodies
Slavery in America and the World: History, Culture & Law
Voting Rights & Election Law
Water Rights & Resources
Women and the Law (Peggy)
U.S. Federal Content
Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS)
Bremer-Kovacs Collection: Historic Documents Related to the Administrative Procedure Act of 1946
COVID-19: Pandemics Past and Present
Civil Rights and Social Justice
Code of Federal Regulations
Executive Privilege
Federal Register Library
GAO Reports and Comptroller General Decisions
History of Supreme Court Nominations
Immigration Law & Policy in the U.S.
Indigenous Peoples of the Americas: History, Culture & Law
John F. Kennedy Assassination Collection
Labor and Employment: The American Worker
Law Library of Congress Reports
Military Legal Resources (U.S. Army JAG School)
Preview of United States Supreme Court Cases
Reports of U.S. Presidential Commissions and Other Advisory Bodies
U.S. Code
U.S. Congressional Documents
U.S. Congressional Serial Set
U.S. Federal Agency Documents, Decisions, and Appeals
U.S. Federal Legislative History Library
U.S. Presidential Impeachment Library
U.S. Presidential Library
U.S. Statutes at Large
U.S. Supreme Court Library
Water Rights & Resources
U.S. State Content
Civil Rights and Social Justice
LGBTQ+ Rights
National Survey of State Laws
Prestatehood Legal Materials: A Fifty-State Research Guide
Session Laws Library
State Attorney General Reports and Opinions
State Constitutions Illustrated
State Reports: A Historical Archive
State Statutes: A Historical Archive
Subject Compilations of State Laws
Water Rights & Resources
A portal to the texts of the state constitutions of the United States. There have been almost 150 state constitutions, they have been amended roughly 12,000 times, and the text of the constitutions and their amendments comprises about 15,000 pages of text. Searchable by state, article number, and section number. Also offers downloadable ASCII files containing the coded texts.
The Book of the States
by
Council of State Governments
Since 1933, CSG has served as a resource for state leaders and a catalyst for innovation and excellence in state governance. The Book of the States has been the reference tool of choice since 1935, providing relevant, accurate and timely information, answers and comparisons for all 56 states, commonwealths and territories of the United States.
Call Number: Research Assistance Desk, Geisel Floor2 West JK2403 .B724
The ideology measures are based on individual-level ideal point estimates described fully in that article. Measures are all in NPAT common ideological space to facilitate explicit comparisons across time and between and within states.
State Legislators Dataset includes biographical information about state lawmakers compiled from legislative and campaign websites and other online sources.
Research on the activities and influence of interest groups in state legislatures faces a data problem: we are missing a comprehensive, systematic dataset of interest groups’ policy preferences on state legislation. We address this gap by introducing the Dataset on Policy Choice and Organizational Representation in the United States (CHORUS). This dataset compiles over 13 million policy positions stated by tens of thousands of interest groups and individuals on bills in seventeen state legislatures over the past 25 years.
The Book of the States
by
Since 1933, CSG has served as a resource for state leaders and a catalyst for innovation and excellence in state governance. The Book of the States has been the reference tool of choice since 1935, providing relevant, accurate and timely information, answers and comparisons for all 56 states, commonwealths and territories of the United States.
