The collection can be sorted by the popular name of the law, by the date of its enactment, or by descriptive category of naming convention. The categories are our attempt to bring some degree of order to the chaos.
Database of Federal Statute Names
Database of Federal Statute Popular Names
| Title | Type | Popular Name | Short Title | Named For? | Classification | PL | Statute At Large |
Date(s) Enacted |
Interesting Part Statutized? | Leads to other named Legislation | Link/Source | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mrs. Murphy (Civil Rights Act) Exemption | Undefined | Mrs. Murphy (Civil Rights Act) Exemption | NO short title | Mrs. Murphy was not a real person, but a hypothetical small boarding house owner, who would be exempted from the requirements of the Civil Rights Act. The hypothetical character was created by Republican Senator George Aiken of Vermont and the name caught on. | 42 USC 3603(b)(2) | 90-284, title VIII, section 803(b)(2) | 82 Stat 82 | N |
James D. Walsh, Reaching Mrs. Murphy: A Call for Repeal of the Mrs. Murphy Exemption to the Fair Housing Act, 34 Harv. C.R.-C.L. L. Rev. 605 (1999) at n. 3. |
name not statutized | ||
| Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust Act of 1998 | Honor | Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust Act of 1998 | "Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust Act of 1998" | Rep. Bill Emerson (MO) died in 1996. | 17 USC 1691 | 105-385 (Title II, subtitle B) | 112 Stat 3465 | Y |
http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=E000174 |
short title; Named for Emerson in Short Title and also as name of Subtitle B | ||
| Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 Amendments Act of 2008 | Abbreviation | Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 Amendments Act of 2008 | "Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 Amendments Act of 2008" or the "FISA Amendments Act of 2008" | 50 USC 1801 | 110-261 | 122 Stat 2436 | N | short title at the beginning of statute; what's interesting here is that "FISA" is not part of the short title of the original bill, but it has clearly come to be known by the acronym | ||||
| Uniform Fiduciaries Act | Description | Uniform Fiduciaries Act | "Uniform Fiduciaries Act" | ch. 545, 45 Stat 509 | ||||||||
| Independent Offices Appropriation Act, 1936 | Description | Independent Offices Appropriation Act, 1936 | "Independent Offices Appropriation Act, 1936" | C. 3, 49 Stat 6 | ||||||||
| La Follete-Barden Vocational Rehabilitation Act (see Vocational Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1943) | Sponsor | La Follete-Barden Vocational Rehabilitation Act (see Vocational Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1943) | "Vocational Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1943" | Rep. Charles Marion La Follette, (D-IN); Rep. Graham Arthur Barden, (D-N.C.) | ch 190, 57 Stat 374 | N |
http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=L000003; http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=B000139 |
short title at end - "Vocational Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1943" | ||||
| Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Amendments Act of 1990 | Honor | Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Amendments Act of 1990 | Long title and short title - "Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Amendments Act of 1990" | Rep. Stewart B. McKinney (CT), died May 7, 1987. | 42 USC 11301 (note) | 101-645 | 104 Stat 4673 | Y |
http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=M000527 |
short title, named Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act in long title | ||
| Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act | Victim | Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act | "Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act" | Garrett Lee Smith was the son of Sen. Gordon Smith (OR). He committed suicide on Sept. 8, 2003; the Senate passed the bill (after House action) on Sept. 9, 2004, Garrett Smith's birthday. | 42 USC 201 (note) | 108-355 | 118 Stat 1404 | Y |
CR S9020-9023, Sept. 9, 2004. Statement of Sen. Gordon Smith. |
statute relates to preventing teen suicide | ||
| Coolie Trade Prohibition Act | Description | Coolie Trade Prohibition Act | No short title, but long title includes "Coolie Trade" | The "Coolie Trade" refers to the trafficking of persons from Asia, mostly China and India, to work as slaves or low-wage laborers. The term "Coolie" is a perjorative. | ch. 27, 12 Stat 340 | Y | "Coolie Trade" actually in the name of the statute: "An Act to prohibit the "Coolie Trade" by American Citizens in American Vessels | |||||
| Edge Act (Federal Reserve Banks) | Sponsor | Edge Act (Federal Reserve Banks) | NO short title | Sen. Walter Evans Edge (R-NJ) | 12 USC 611 (note) | ch. 18, 41 Stat 378 | N |
http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=E000044 |
not statutized; amending the Federal Reserve Act; |