Legislative history is a term that refers to the documents that are produced by Congress as a bill is introduced, studied, and debated. These legislative documents are often used by attorneys and courts in an attempt to determine Congressional intent or to clarify vague or ambiguous statutory language. Note, however, that legislative documents are merely persuasive authority, not mandatory authority.  

Types of Legislative Documents 

• Bills - The bill is the proposed law. It is assigned a bill number, which is one of the keys to tracing legislative history. Bills are frequently amended throughout the legislative process and may be printed several times before they are finally passed. Comparing the various versions of a bill as it moved throughout the legislative process may help in determining the intended meaning of the law; arguments regarding the meaning of a statutory section may be drawn based on the inclusion, deletion or modification of language in the text of the bill.

  • Congress.gov - Congress.gov is the legislative documents database from the Library of Congress. Full text of Bills from 1989 to the present (summaries and metadata from 1973 to the present).
  • Govinfo.gov - From 103rd Congress (1993) to present

• Hearings - The published record of the House and Senate committees’ hearings on proposed legislation. Hearings can provide a wealth of information for background research into the issue Congress is addressing.

  • Govinfo.gov - From 99th Congress (1985) to the present.
  • U.S. Congressional Testimony (Westlaw) - Selective hearings from 1993 to the present. Includes agendas and witness lists for committee hearings, transcripts of oral statements, and written statements.
  • Congressional Hearings (Lexis) - Hearings from 1824 to present.
• Committee Reports - House (H. Rpt.) and Senate (S. Rpt.) committees issue these reports, outlining their deliberations and recommendations for a particular bill. Reports usually reprint the text of the bill, describe its purposes, and give reasons for the committee's recommendations on the bill. Reports are issued for almost every bill that becomes a law, and there is usually a report from each of the House and Senate committees that considered the legislation.
  • Govinfo.gov - House and Senate Reports 1995 to the present
  • Congress.gov - Select "Committee Reports" from pull down menu before searching.
• Congressional Debates - Congressional debates include discussions for or against proposed bills and amendments, as well as explanations of provisions that are vague or unclear, so such debates can also be useful for legislative history research.
  • Congress.gov- Daily Edition, 1995-Present
  • HeinOnline - Features the complete Congressional Record Bound version, as well as the daily version back to 1980. 

Most states allow access to the full text of bills from the current legislative session and you can often search back several years.  However, other materials such as hearings, debates, and reports are often more difficult to locate. To locate it either in print or online, you need to check each individual state’s availability. 

U.S. State Legislative Resources

• HeinOnline - U.S. Federal Legislative History Library
• HeinOnline – State Statutes a Historical Archive
• USA.gov - State Government Information, 50 States & the District of Columbia
• Legislative History (Westlaw)
• Legislative Histories (Lexis)
• The Making of Modern Law: Legal Treatises 1800-1926 by Gale

Ohio 

• Ohio General Assembly - Legislation Search - Bills and Acts, 1997- with legislative history documents linked from each bill/act. The first page has documents from 2015 on, which may include the text of hearings. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the link titled "Ohio General Assembly Archives" to access 1997-2014 documents.
• Ohio Secretary of State  -  Laws of Ohio: Bill effective dates and information about legislation filed with the Ohio Secretary of State's Office from 2001 to present.
• HeinOnline –Session Laws Library 1803-2006 - A great place to look at Acts (Session Laws) if you are working on pre-1989 legislative histories).
• HeinOnline – State Statutes a Historical Archive - Older versions of codified laws

Westlaw and Lexis have Legislative History collections with multiple resources for researching legal history, Below are a selection of those resources:

Westlaw

• U.S. Code Congressional & Administrative News

  USCCAN publishes the text of laws passed by Congress and selected committee reports on bills passed into law. Although it is not a comprehensive list of all the possible documents attached to a particular law, it can be a good starting point because of the importance of committee reports.

• Congressional Record

  Congressional Record has the text of the congressional record from 1985 to present. Available through Westlaw.

• Congressional Reports

  All congressional committee reports, including reports on bills that did not become law, beginning with 1990. Available on Westlaw.

• U.S. Congressional Testimony

  Agendas and witness lists for U.S. congressional committee hearings, transcripts of oral statements, and written statements submitted to committees of Congress. Coverage begins with January 1993 and includes increased coverage from January 1996 to present and selected coverage from 1993 to 1996. Available on Westlaw.

Lexis

• Federal Legislative Bill History

  The legislative history documents include: Bill Summaries, Committee Reports, and President's Messages.Coverage from 2006 through current;

• House and Senate Floor Voting Records

  Provides a vehicle for locating how members of congress voted on what issue. Coverage from 110th through Current Congress. Available through Lexis.

• Committee Reports

  The Committee Report file contains the full text of House and Senate Committee Reports. Coverage from 1981-1982; 1989-current. Available through Lexis.

• Congressional Research Service Reports

  The Congressional Research Service (CRS) works exclusively for the United States Congress. CRS Reports provide non-partisan policy and legal analysis to committees and Members of both the House and Senate, usually in advance of legislative activity. Available on Lexis.

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