Are LL rules universal or do they vary from state to state, county to county, etc?

[YeOleBallgame]

My son plays in a 9U league here in Texas and after a walk, the ball is declared dead and a runner cannot advance from say, 2nd to 3rd.
Ironically, there have been games where the runner has advanced and the ump didn't do anything about it when it was pointed out to him. Some coaches say the runner can advance and some have said they can't.

[leecemark]

--Little League does have an official rule book. Many leagues have their own modifications to said rule book though. Those modifications should be in writing and provided to every coach before the season. The coaches might also agree to additonal, informal alterations. Those would have to be discussed between coaches pre-game at least the first time you and play a team (and with the ump if you have one - coaches call the game in our beginner leagues, tee ball (5-6), coach pitch (6-8) and the kid/coach hybrid (7-9)).

[DerekD]

Correct, there is the LL rulebook and then the "ground rules" for each league. Those rules are also supposed to be approved by LL. However, it sounds like the problem here is that your umpires haven't had a sit down to cover the ground rules. The rule you brought up is not in the LL rulebook so if some outside umpire comes in to do a game, he won't stop the runners from running.

[The Uncoach]

And also, "Little League" can be used simply as a term to describe the small field youth baseball in any town, regardless of whether or not that youth baseball organization has an official relationship with Little League Inc.

[YeOleBallgame]

Thanks for the replies. My son's 9-U season ended on Friday (Spring ball) with a 12-0 whooping. We walked in all 12-0 runs. :/