A particular agency's regulations may be posted on its website. Why might it be useful to try the agency website instead of an online database?
One reason is because the agency website will often contain the regulations, the statute providing statutory authority, and documentation of policies and procedures relevant to that agency, such as forms and how to file them. There may also be simple explanations intended for the public, as well as contact information for agency officials. While much or all of this information may be findable in online databases, sometimes the agency website is the quicker way to find it all in one place.
Sometimes it isn’t clear whether a site you have found using Google is the official website of the agency, or if it is created by a third party. For example, you might be suspicious of www.sceducationlottery.com because it ends in .com instead of .gov.
To check whether you are on the official site, you can go to scstatehouse.gov and click on State Agency Websites.
This will take you to sc.gov’s Agency Listing.
The Lottery Commission is listed under "E," with a link to www.sceducationlottery.com, confirming that this is the official agency website.
It may take some exploration to find where each individual agency chooses to put regulations and related materials on their website, but it may still be quicker than finding those same items in an online database such as Lexis or Westlaw.
On sceducationlottery.com, it is quick work to click on "About Us" and find links to the Lottery Act and Lottery Regulations as PDFs. Remember: although regulations are a separate source of law, regulations derive authority from statutes (also known as acts).
The SC Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (LLR) website is very helpful for finding the statutes and regulations that govern its many divisions, which include Professional Licensing Boards for many professions and occupations.
For example, to find links to both the statutes and the regulations that govern the profession of Forestry,
The page for each professional licensing board is organized in a similar way, with the relevant statutes and regulations included at a “Laws and Policies” link under "Resources," "Additional Resources," or a similar term.
