How to Cite U.S. Government Documents in APA Citation Style: State Statutes (Laws)

Both the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association and The Bluebook Manual of Legal Citation indicate that state statutes (laws that have been passed and added to the state code), should be cited to the code. 

Try searching the state name and the term "code" or "laws" to find online versions of the state codes. State codes are organized differently in every state.

This Basic Legal Citation guide, produced by the Cornell Legal Information Institute is a very good source for state code names/abbreviations.

In Text:

• (Equal Rights to Publicly-aided Housing, 2021)
• Equal Rights to Publicly-aided Housing (2021)

Reference List:

Equal Rights to Publicly-aided Housing, N.Y. Civil Rights Law, Sections (§§) 18-A - 19-B (Consol. 2021). https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/CVR/A2-A

See: Cornell's Legal Information Institute, Basic Legal Citation, for a list of Code abbreviations and sample citations, by state.

Note: APA style calls for the title of the statute to precede information on the source.

If you found your reference in an academic database (like Nexis Uni, or Hein Online), the database URL is not included.

If you found your reference on the open web (from a state legislature web site), include the DOI, or URL if DOI is not available, after the final period.

See page 296 of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, (2020) for more information.