Pennsylvania Bulletin

The Pennsylvania Bulletin is a weekly official publication of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Produced by staff of the Pennsylvania Legislative Reference Bureau, which operates at the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg, it provides a formal public record of state-government actions and regulatory materials. The publication is issued weekly, normally on Friday morning, and functions as the Commonwealth's official gazette for information and rulemaking. The Bulletin was established through the Commonwealth Documents Law of 1968. Before that reform, Pennsylvania legislators identified shortcomings in the way amendments to state laws and administrative requirements were communicated to government employees, regulated organizations, and members of the public. The law created an integrated publication and codification framework consisting of the Pennsylvania Bulletin and the Pennsylvania Code. The Bulletin serves as the regularly updated publication in which new, proposed, amended, suspended, or otherwise relevant government documents are announced or printed, while the Pennsylvania Code provides the organized codification of Pennsylvania's standing rules and regulations. Its subject matter extends beyond conventional administrative rules. Depending on statutory requirements and the nature of the document, the Bulletin may carry gubernatorial proclamations and executive orders of general applicability, administrative regulations, general and permanent policy statements, court rules, judicial documents, agency notices, legislative documents, and other materials designated for publication by the Governor, the Joint Committee on Documents, or the director of the Legislative Reference Bureau. It therefore supports both legal transparency and public participation in policymaking. A central function of the Bulletin is to give interested people notice of proposed government action before it becomes final. Agencies can use its pages to publish proposed rulemakings, notices of hearings or proceedings, requests for comment, and other legally required announcements. Readers can consequently monitor changes affecting regulated industries, local governments, public institutions, legal practitioners, and the general public. The publication is not a commercial magazine or a privately owned media brand. It is an official state information service administered within Pennsylvania's legislative publication system. Its principal value lies in authoritative notice, legal continuity, and access to the Commonwealth's rulemaking process. The Bulletin remains active as a recurring supplement to the Pennsylvania Code and as an important source for tracking Pennsylvania executive, administrative, legislative, and judicial documents.

The Pennsylvania Bulletin emerged from Pennsylvania's 1968 effort to modernize the publication and codification of state legal materials. Legislators concluded that existing methods for communicating changes in laws, administrative requirements, and government policy were insufficient for state employees and the public. The Commonwealth Documents Law, enacted on July 31, 1968, established both the Pennsylvania Bulletin and the Pennsylvania Code as parts of a coordinated state documentation system. The Bulletin was designed as the regularly issued publication through which Pennsylvania could announce and disseminate official legal and administrative information. Its creation addressed two related needs. First, government agencies required a dependable way to publish rules, notices, and other documents that had legal or procedural significance. Second, citizens and affected organizations needed access to proposed government action before adoption, allowing them to review proposals and participate in rulemaking. The Legislative Reference Bureau became responsible for compiling, editing, and supplementing the official codification known as the Pennsylvania Code. The Bureau performs that work under the policy supervision and direction of the Joint Committee on Documents. The Bulletin complements the Code: the Bulletin provides the recurring publication channel for new and proposed materials, while the Code organizes rules and other continuing documents into a more permanent legal reference. Pennsylvania law defines the kinds of material that may or must appear in the Bulletin. These include regulations, generally applicable executive orders and proclamations, permanent policy statements, general rules, court rules, and judicial documents considered general and permanent in nature. The publication may also carry agency notices directed to the public, legislative documents filed for publication, judicial documents submitted through the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, and other materials whose publication is required or authorized by the Governor, the Joint Committee on Documents, or the director of the Legislative Reference Bureau. The publication operates as a weekly journal rather than as a conventional newspaper. Issues are prepared by state staff and released for public access on a recurring Friday schedule. Its audience includes government agencies, attorneys, businesses subject to Pennsylvania regulation, public bodies, researchers, and members of the public following proposed or adopted state action. Through this continuing publication role, the Pennsylvania Bulletin supports notice, accountability, and traceability in the Commonwealth's administrative and legal systems. The Bulletin is also part of a broader legal-information ecosystem. It can be understood alongside the Pennsylvania Code, Pennsylvania administrative law, court documentation, and the federal Federal Register, although it is specifically concerned with official materials of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Its importance is institutional rather than commercial: it is a state-operated publication mechanism intended to make government action visible and legally accessible.

• 1968

  Commonwealth Documents Law enacted

  [1]Pennsylvania Bulletinen.wikipedia.org

  Pennsylvania enacted the Commonwealth Documents Law on July 31, 1968, establishing the statutory framework for the Pennsylvania Bulletin and the Pennsylvania Code.

An authoritative public-law and regulatory information publication for Pennsylvania government, regulated entities, legal professionals, and the public.

• Official government journal · 1968

  Pennsylvania Bulletin

  The core offering is a recurring official journal of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It publishes or announces regulatory, executive, agency, legislative, and judicial materials that Pennsylvania law requires or permits to be made public. The weekly issue provides notice of proposed and adopted government actions and serves as an updating companion to the Pennsylvania Code. It is produced by the Legislative Reference Bureau and is intended for public consumption rather than commercial news readership.

• Legal codification support · 1968

  Pennsylvania Code supplements

  The Bulletin functions as a continuing supplement to the Pennsylvania Code. While the Code organizes Pennsylvania's standing rules and regulations, Bulletin issues provide the publication channel for changes, proposals, notices, and other documents that contribute to the state's official legal record. This relationship allows users to follow the development and maintenance of Pennsylvania administrative law over time.

• 1968

  Pennsylvania Bulletin established under the Commonwealth Documents Law[1]Pennsylvania Bulletinen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Pennsylvania enacted the Commonwealth Documents Law on July 31, 1968, creating the statutory framework for the Pennsylvania Bulletin and the Pennsylvania Code. The reform was intended to improve the communication of changes in state law and regulation and to support public participation in policymaking.

1. 1Pennsylvania Bulletinen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Pennsylvania Bulletin official websitepabulletin.com