Русско-англо-русский юридический словарь

Regulations are not laws themselves, but are legal directives written to explain how to implement statutes or laws. Local regulations must not be less stringent than the state regulations and state regulations must not be less stringent than the federal regulations. (Yakima Regional Clean Air Agency in Yakima, Washington)

Regulations are written by executive branch agencies at several levels. Examples of executive branch agencies include the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the Washington State Department of Ecology, as well as the Yakima Regional Clean Air Agency. (Yakima Regional Clean Air Agency in Yakima, Washington)

Regulations, on the other hand, are standards and rules adopted by administrative agencies that govern how laws will be enforced. So an agency like the SEC can have its own regulations for enforcing major securities laws. For instance, while the Securities and Exchange Act prohibits using insider or nonpublic information to make trades, the SEC can have its own rules on how it will investigate charges of insider trading. (FindLaw)