# 2026 Primary Authority Matrix

Checked 2026-09-20. Official current text controls; this is an educational map, not legal advice.

| Key | Authority | Controlled rule | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|
| `first_amendment` | U.S. Constitution, First Amendment — speech and petition | Government may not abridge protected speech or petition, but the Petition Clause does not guarantee that government will grant the requested relief. | https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-1/ |
| `petition_doctrine` | Constitution Annotated — Assembly and Petition | The First Amendment protects petitioning activity; retaliation and remedy questions require their own elements. | https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/amdt1-10-2/ALDE_00000223/ |
| `state_action` | Constitution Annotated — State Action Doctrine | Federal constitutional liability ordinarily requires conduct fairly attributable to government; funding, regulation, licensing, or contracting alone is not enough. | https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/amdt14-2/ALDE_00000810/ |
| `provider_choice_statute` | 42 U.S.C. § 1396a(a)(23) | A state Medicaid plan generally must allow an eligible individual to obtain assistance from a qualified person or institution willing to furnish it, subject to statutory exceptions. | https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?edition=prelim&req=granuleid%3AUSC-prelim-title42-section1396a |
| `provider_choice_rule` | 42 C.F.R. § 431.51 | A beneficiary generally may obtain Medicaid services from a qualified and willing provider, subject to lawful waiver, managed-care, and other regulatory exceptions. | https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-42/chapter-IV/subchapter-C/part-431/subpart-B/section-431.51 |
| `hcbs` | 42 C.F.R. § 441.301(c) | HCBS rules govern person-centered planning, informed provider choice, plan contents, settings, autonomy, conflict safeguards, and covered grievance systems. | https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-42/chapter-IV/subchapter-C/part-441/subpart-G/section-441.301 |
| `hcbs_grievance` | 42 C.F.R. § 441.301(c)(7) | Beginning July 9, 2026, covered states must operate an accessible HCBS grievance system with assistance, receipt acknowledgment, independent review, case-file access, anti-retaliation safeguards, and generally a 90-day resolution ceiling. | https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-42/chapter-IV/subchapter-C/part-441/subpart-G/section-441.301 |
| `medicaid_hearings` | 42 C.F.R. Part 431, Subpart E | Medicaid applicants and beneficiaries have specified notice and fair-hearing protections for covered agency actions; continuation rules are conditional. | https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-42/chapter-IV/subchapter-C/part-431/subpart-E/subject-group-ECFR803dd5eda355b92 |
| `due_process` | U.S. Const. amend. XIV; Roth; Goldberg; Mathews | Procedural due process begins with a protected liberty or property interest and government deprivation, then asks what notice and opportunity to be heard were due. | https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/amdt14-S1-5-1/ALDE_00013747/ |
| `ada_title_ii` | 42 U.S.C. § 12132; 28 C.F.R. § 35.130 | Public entities may not discriminate on the basis of disability and must administer services in the most integrated setting appropriate, subject to defenses and coverage rules. | https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-28/chapter-I/part-35/subpart-B |
| `ada_retaliation` | 28 C.F.R. § 35.134 | The rule prohibits covered discrimination, coercion, threats, or interference because a person opposed disability discrimination or exercised, aided, or encouraged protected ADA rights. | https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-28/chapter-I/part-35/subpart-B/section-35.134 |
| `section_504` | 29 U.S.C. § 794; 45 C.F.R. §§ 84.68, 84.71, 84.76 | Federally assisted programs may be subject to nondiscrimination, reasonable-modification, anti-retaliation, and integration duties, including serious-risk-of-institutionalization protections. | https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-45/subtitle-A/subchapter-A/part-84/subpart-G |
| `olmstead` | Olmstead v. L.C., 527 U.S. 581 (1999) | Unjustified segregation can violate Title II when community services are appropriate, not opposed, and reasonably accommodated; the analysis is fact-specific. | https://www.ada.gov/resources/olmstead-mandate-statement/ |
| `program_integrity` | 42 C.F.R. §§ 455.13–455.16 | A Medicaid fraud or abuse complaint or questionable practice triggers a preliminary investigation; later steps depend on what the evidence supports and must protect legal rights and due process. | https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-42/chapter-IV/subchapter-C/part-455/subpart-A |
| `anti_kickback` | 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b(b) | The federal anti-kickback statute addresses knowing and willful remuneration to induce or reward covered referrals or orders; exact elements, safe harbors, and evidence matter. | https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?edition=prelim&req=granuleid%3AUSC-prelim-title42-section1320a-7b |
| `public_contractor_speech` | Board of County Commissioners v. Umbehr, 518 U.S. 668 (1996); O'Hare Truck Service v. City of Northlake, 518 U.S. 712 (1996) | Independent public contractors can receive First Amendment protection against certain government retaliation, subject to public-concern, balancing, causation, contract, and defense questions. | https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/amdt1-7-13-2/ALDE_00001274/ |
| `ct_whistleblower` | Conn. Gen. Stat. § 4-61dd | Connecticut's state whistleblower framework covers specified disclosures, investigations, retaliatory-personnel-action complaints, and large-state-contractor circumstances; claimant status, protected content, procedure, and deadlines require fact-specific screening. | https://prdext2.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_048.htm#sec_4-61dd |
| `ct_employee_disclosure` | Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-51m | Connecticut protects covered employees from specified employer retaliation for qualifying disclosures, subject to the statute's employment relationship, recipient, good-faith, procedure, deadline, defense, and remedy requirements. | https://prdext2.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_557.htm#sec_31-51m |
| `ct_employee_speech` | Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-51q | Connecticut provides an employment remedy for certain discipline or discharge based on protected constitutional activity, subject to coverage, workplace-interference, causation, exceptions, and remedy requirements. | https://prdext2.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_557.htm#sec_31-51q |
| `section_1983` | 42 U.S.C. § 1983; Health & Hospital Corp. v. Talevski, 599 U.S. 166 (2023) | Section 1983 is a remedial vehicle, not a source of rights; each constitutional or statutory provision needs actor, right, enforceability, causation, defense, and remedy analysis. | https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf/21-806_2dp3.pdf |