Here is a freely published copy of the POSIX standard:
http://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9699919799/
Regarding the "text of some laws", there was actually a story on HN about the city of the District of Columbia asserting copyright to their laws and making it only available via a private company:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/mar/31/ignorance-of...
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5251797