Legal Definitions - slip law

A slip law is the very first official publication of a newly enacted law. It is a standalone document, typically a single pamphlet or sheet, that contains the complete text of one specific law immediately after it has been passed by a legislative body and signed into effect. This initial publication makes the new law publicly available right away, before it is compiled and organized into larger, permanent collections of statutes, such as the U.S. Statutes at Large or state code books.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• Imagine the U.S. Congress passes a new federal bill that significantly changes immigration procedures, and the President signs it into law. To ensure government agencies, lawyers, and the public can immediately access the precise wording of this new statute, it would first be published as a slip law. This allows for quick dissemination and implementation of the new rules without waiting for it to be bound into the multi-volume annual collection of federal laws.

• A state legislature passes a bill establishing new safety regulations for construction sites. As soon as the governor signs this bill, the state's official printer would produce it as a slip law. This ensures that construction companies, workers' unions, and regulatory bodies have immediate access to the exact legal requirements, enabling them to begin compliance efforts or challenge specific provisions without delay, long before the law is integrated into the state's comprehensive legal code.

• Consider a situation where a major natural disaster prompts Congress to quickly pass an emergency relief act, allocating funds and setting up new aid programs. Once signed by the President, this act would be issued as a slip law. This immediate publication is crucial because it provides the definitive legal text that federal agencies need to begin distributing aid and implementing programs without any lag, ensuring that the relief efforts can commence as swiftly as possible based on the official statutory language.