Tammy Raum’s Internet Research Tips – NY State Administrative Code’s Print and Online Editions Contain Important Variations for Evidence!

Tammy Raum is:
Senior Research Librarian, New York City Law Dept. Library and may be contacted at: tammyraumprof@gmail.com

Research Information for State Administrative Code: NYCRR and Litigation Protocol
Consultation of the complete unofficial New York Codes, Rules and Regulations (NYCRR)

is now available on a complimentary basis on the New York State Department of State Website:

http://www.dos.state.ny.us/info/nycrr.htm
The announcement led me to inquire about the difference between the official and unofficial versions.

In submitting any excerpts into evidence in court, only the print copy is permitted, as it is the only format that can be certified by the Secretary of State.

The authority is from Executive Law Section 106, provided for clarification below. Fortunately for researchers there is a provision that all state agencies are mandated to link their websites back to the Secretary of State’s website for consolidation, as a new feature as of 2008.

References:

Executive Law Section 106. Proof of codes, rules and regulations.

Any code, rule or regulation of the state of New York may be read in evidence from the official compilation, or supplement thereto. To entitle any copy of a code, rule or regulation published, other than those published in such official compilation or supplement thereto, to be read in evidence there shall be contained in the same book or pamphlet a printed certificate of the secretary of state that such copy is a correct transcript of the text of the code, rule or regulation as published in such official compilation or supplement thereto. For such a certificate the secretary of state shall collect such a fee as he shall deem just and reasonable.

L. 1951, c.800
Executive Law Section 106-a. Internet access to the New York code, rules and regulations.

The department of state shall post or maintain a link on its website to an unofficial version of the New York code, rules and regulations, which shall be provided at no cost to the end users. All state agencies which have adopted rules and regulations shall maintain a link to the department of state website which contains such link.

L. 2007 c.407 Sec. 1 eff. Jan. 1, 2008

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