Legislative history refers to the documents produced by the legislature as a bill is introduced, studied and debated. The intent of the legislature is one of the arguments you can use when arguing how a ambiguous statute should be interpreted. Legislative histories for major laws are sometimes compiled and published in a single collection. These compilations can be very helpful because they gather all of the legislative sources relating to a law in one place. Therefore, it may be worth your while to determine if one of these exists before attempting to compile the sources on your own.
For information on finding legislative history, use the following research guides & resources:
Provides daily updated information¸ including full text of bills starting in 1989¸ public laws starting in 1988¸ committee reports starting in 1990¸ House and Senate documents starting in 1995¸ Congressional hearings starting in 1987-88¸ Congressional Record starting in 1985¸ Federal Register starting in 1980¸ National Journal starting in 1977 and other government information. Users can search an index of congressional publications from 1970 to the present¸ retrieve CIS Legislative Histories for public laws going back to 1970¸ find testimony from congressional hearings¸ track bills as they move through the House and Senate¸ search the Congressional Record and Federal Register¸ locate information about members and committees¸ and search the National Journal.
Check OneSearch for books in our collection: In the keyword search fields, enter the name of the law or topic you are searching, and the words "legislative history" (include the quotation marks).
