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Statutory Interpretation: Legislative History

Introduction

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.

  • 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. 

State Legislative History

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

Ohio 

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