Notes on Finding Laws:
Session Laws - Compilations of session laws provide a chronological record of laws passed in a specific time period. For example, in Congress, a session is a two-year legislative period. To see a law as it appeared on the day it was signed into law, use session laws.
Codes - To see a law as it has been incorporated into the body of laws and amended since the date of passage, use codes.
In legal proceedings, it's important to cite official versions of codes and session laws. Codes published in sources like Westlaw Campus are useful for research, but are not considered "official" texts. In many instances, including the United States Code and the General Laws of Massachusetts, the print texts are considered authoritative.