Occasionally there is a need to see what a Code section looked like in a prior year. Lexis (beginning with 2004) and Westlaw (beginning with 2002) both provide access to older versions of the Pennsylvania Code. The library also has the ability to track code sections back to the 1970s using the serial pages.
Contact the Jenkins' Reference Librarians at 215.574.1505 or research@jenkinslaw.org for additional assistance on finding historical versions of the Pennsylvania Code.
If looking for administrative regulations from before 1970, try contacting the Pennsylvania Legislative Reference Bureau. You may also have to contact the agency.
Archived Codes
Available on the library's Lexis computers. Begins with 2004.
From the Lexis Advance home page, under Explore Content, select Statutes & Legislation or Administrative Codes & Regs. The Archived Code Search is found in the Related Resources box on the right. Lexis requires a search string in order to conduct the search. If you have the citation, include it in the search box. Select "Administrative Codes", the desired year(s), and the desired jurisdiction(s). Then click "Search".
For example, if you wanted to see how 49 Pa.Code § 31.15 looked in 2010, use the search string 49 Pa Code 31.15, select "Administrative Codes", enter 2010 in the date field, select Pennsylvania, then click "Search".
Lexis also allows you to find archived versions of the Code when in the current Code section. When looking at a current Code section, the "About" box on the right includes a link to archived versions, when available.
Pennsylvania Historical Regulations
Available on the library's Westlaw computers. Begins with 2002.
From the All Content tab, select Regulations > Pennsylvania > Pennsylvania Historical Regulations (located in the Tools & Resources box on the right). Click on the desired year. Westlaw requires a search string in order to conduct the search. Use the fields listed to help generate the search. If you have the citation, enter the title and section numbers, connected with an ampersand, in the "Citation" field.
For example, if you wanted to see how 49 Pa.Code § 31.15 looked in 2010, once on the Pennsylvania Historical Regulations page, click "2010", enter 49 & 31.15 in the "Citation" field, and click the search icon.
Pennsylvania Code Serial Pages
The library has the ability to track code sections back to the 1970s using the serial pages. Contact the Jenkins' Reference Librarians at 215.574.1505 / research@jenkinslaw.org or see our Tracing Back Pennsylvania Codes blog for more information.