Federal Legislative History Research:
A Guide to Selected Sources

Charlene Cain
February 2003

NOTICE: The purpose of this pathfinder is to assist in the identification and use of potentially relevant sources of legal information. Nothing in this document should be interpreted as legal advice. Items cited in this pathfinder can be located using the library’s catalog. Also, many of the items cited can be used electronically through LEXIS, WESTLAW, and the Internet.

Introduction

Legislative history is “the process or result of research in the documentary records of a legislature’s formulation, consideration and passage or rejection of a proposed law.” (Cohen, Berring, et al, Finding the Law).

When statutory language is ambiguous, attorneys use these materials to discover the legislative body’s intent in passing the law as a means of bolstering arguments favorable to their clients. Of all the material listed below, the most persuasive tool for discovering intent is committee reports—preferably conference reports. As reasoned statements detailing background and compromise; they are not as misleading as the testimony found in hearings, which are forums for advocacy; the sometimes intemperate remarks found in floor debates; or the often self-serving signing statements of presidents.

How to Use Legislative History Materials

Berring, Robert. Legal Research for the 21^st Century. Tape 4: Statutes, Legislative Histories, and Administrative Materials. St. Paul, MN: West Group, 2000.
Reserve Room Videocassette KF 240 .B48 2000

Mammen, Christian E. Using Legislative Histories in American Statutory Interpretation. New York, NY: Kluwer Law International, 2002.
KF 425 .M36 2002

Definitions of Terms

[Note: Numbering of legislative and nonlegislative measures is by order of the introduction during the course of the two sessions of Congress. Measures not enacted during a Congress die and must be reintroduced in the next Congress. Hence, reference to a bill must include the Congress during which it was considered. For example, the 1^st Senate bill of the 104^th Congress is numbered S.1, 104^th Congress, 1^st session.]

1. Proposed legislation

   Bills (term used generically for all types of legislation)

   (Senate has prefix of S.; House has prefix of H.R.)
   Used for legislation of general applicability
   Always begins “Be it enacted…”
   If approved by Congress and the President, has the force of law

   Joint resolutions

   (Senate: S.J. Res.; House: H.R.J.Res.)
   Traditionally used for incidental legislation
   Always begins “Resolved…”
   If approved by Congress and the President, has the force of law

   Non-legislative resolutions

   Concurrent resolutions

   (Senate: S.Con.Res.; House: H. Con. Res.)
   Expresses the “sense” of both houses on an issue or proposed amendments to the Constitution
   Does not require presidential approval; does not have force of law
   Published in

   • Congressional Record
   • House and Senate
   • Statutes at Large

   Simple resolutions

   (Senate: S.Res.; House: H.Res.)

   Adopted by one house only—expresses the “sense” of only one house and merely governs the actions of that house. Published in

   • Congressio nal Record
   • Journal of the house that passed them

   Finding the text of Congressional bills:

   Legislative and non-legislative measures dating from 1933 to 1938 and 1979 to current are available in the Law Library Government Documents Microfiche Collection. This set is published by the Government Printing Office and is arranged by fiche number, not by bill number. Several bills may appear on one fiche in no perceived order. The Bills and Resolutions Finding Aid, shelved atop the microfiche cabinets identifies the fiche number containing your bill as well as the coordinates to use on the microfiche reader. The finding aid arranges the bills by type of measure. With the bill number in hand, look in the appropriate column to find the fiche number and X-Y coordinate. The fiche number is in the upper right hand corner of the fiche and is the number under which it is filed. The X-Y coordinates tell you the frame on the fiche that contains your bill.

   Single copies of bills may also be obtained from the House and Senate document rooms and from senators and representatives. See the Congressional Staff Directory [Ref Coll. JK 1012.C65] or the Congressional Directory [Reference Collection, Documents Office, or go to http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/cong016.html].

   See also Online Sources, below.

2. ENACTED LEGISLATION

   Statutes

   Formal written enactments of a legislative body Federal statutes must be approved by both houses of Congress and be either approved by the President or re-passed by Congress over his veto

   Public laws (P.L.)

   Includes both acts and joint resolutions
   Apply to the general public at large
   Published as

   • Individual slip laws (official)
   • United States Code
   • Congressional and Administrative News (USCCAN)
   • United States Code Annotated statutory supplement pamphlets
   • United States Code Service advance sheets
   • United States Statutes at Large (official)

   Since 1957, designated by Congress and sequential number of the law and by Statutes at Large citation (ex: P.L. 103-1, 107 STAT 3)

   Private laws (Priv. L.)

   Enacted to benefit a specially situated individual or a small number of persons (ex: to adjust the immigration status of a certain alien)

   Published

   • As slip laws
   • In the Statues at Large

   Designated as follows: P.L. 103-1, Priv.L. 103-1, 107 STAT 2501

   Codes

   Subject compilations of statues. Necessary because federal statutes are published in Statutes at Large in chronological order as enacted, with no subject arrangement or method of ascertaining whether the act has been amended.

   United States Code (USC)

   • Current subject compilation of permanent federal statutes of general applicability, published since 1926, and issued in new editions by the United States Government every six years with cumulative annual supplements between editions.
   • Arranged into 50 numbered titles (Title 12=Banking) with sections within each title numbered consecutively.

   Annotated editions
   The United States Code Annotated and United States Code Service are commercially published versions with additional research aids and much more current supplementation.

   Note: USC section numbers do not correspond to Statutes at Large section numbers. Derivation notes in the USC margins tell from what public law sections the code provisions derive. Tables in the USC tables volume show where public law sections end up in the USC. Shepard’s United States Citations, arranged by USC citation, update these derivation notes.

   If you know the public law number or Statutes at Large cite, check Table III of the USC tables volume, updated by Table 2 of USCCAN or the “Statutes at Large: tables in the USCS advance sheets and the “Public Law” tables in the USCA pamphlet supplements.

   If you know the popular name of the statute, check Shepard’s Acts and Cases by Popular Name or the Popular Names tables in the USC, USCA, USCS, or the Supreme Court Reports, Lawyers Edition Index to Annotations volume. For very recent statutes, check the USCCAN or USCS advance sheets indexes or popular name tables, or the CCH Congressional Index “Names of Laws Amended/Enacted.

See also Online Sources, below.

Outline of Federal Legislative Process and its Documentation

Things to remember when following this outline:

1. Not every piece of legislation produces all the documentation listed. For example, a conference report may not be required and so is not published.
2. More than 90 percent of bills introduced die in committee.
3. Although the life of a bill extends only over the two sessions of the congress in which it was introduced, the history of the bill may extend further back. Intent may be shown in reports and bills originating in previous congresses.
4. Both houses may introduce similar bills. Senate bill 1 and House bill 200 may have nearly identical text.

ACTION

1. Introduction of proposed legislation in House or Senate and reference to appropriate committee.

   Documentation:

   1. House or Senate bill or joint resolution.
   2. Committees and committee assignments are listed in the annual Congressional Directory. Committees may prepare “prints,” or background studies on subjects related to the legislation.
2. Hearings held in committee.

   Documentation:

   1. Transcripts of hearings may be published.
3. Bill reported out of committee.

   Documentation:

   1. House or Senate report, designated by congress number and sequential report number (ex: S. Rept. 104-15)
   2. Committee print of bill, which is the text of the bill as considered and amended by the committee. It bears the same, original bill number.
4. Debate and passage.

   Documentation:

   1. Congressional Record.
5. Introduction of bill in the other house and reference to committee.

   Documentation:

   1. Bill as passed by one house (now called an act), retains original bill number. \
6. Hearings held in committee

   Documentation:

   1. Transcripts of hearings may be published.
7. Bill reported out of committee.

   Documentation:

   1. Committee reports
   2. Committee print of act
8. Debate and passage.
   1. Congressional Record.
9. House-Senate Conference Committee reconciles differences between House and Senate versions.

   Documentation:

   1. Conference report (usually designated as a House report, usually printed in Congressional Record).
10. Presidential action.

    Documentation:

    1. Approval—approval message printed in Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, later compiled in Public Papers of the President, and United States Code Congressional and Administrative News.
    2. Veto—veto message printed in Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Congressional Record, and journal of house originating the bill. Note: Congress can override a veto by two-third majority vote in both houses. If they do override, the action will appear in Congressional Record.
11. Publication of the law

    Documentation:

    1. Slip law, compiled in
       • Statutes at Large
       • United States Code Congressional and Administrative News (unofficial)
       • United States Code Annotated supplemental pamphlets (unofficial)
       • United States Code Service Advance Service (unofficial) Designated by Congress and sequential number of the law and by Statutes at Large citation (ex: P.L.103-1, 107 STAT 3)
12. Codification of law.

    Documentation:

    1. United States Code (also in the unofficial United States Code Annotated and United States Code Service).

Indexes to Documentation

(see also Locations of Cited Materials, below)

1. Bills
   CCH Congressional Index
   CIS Congressional Index
   House calendars
2. Committee Prints
   CIS Annual Index to /Abstracts of Congressional Publications and Public Laws
3. Committee Reports
   CIS Annual Index to/ Abstracts of Congressional Publications and Public Laws
   United States Code Congressiona l and Administrative News
4. Debates
   Congressional Record Indexes (for specific time periods) Statutes at Large (simplified legislative history is printed after each statute)
5. Hearings
   CIS Annual Index to/Abstracts of congressional Publications and Public Laws [Documents Index Table]
6. Presidential Action
   CCH Congressional Index (enactments/vetoes tables)
   Congressional Record (indexes for specific time periods)
   Public Papers of the Presidents
   Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents
   United States Code Congressional and Administrative News

    

Online Sources

GPO Access

http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/legislative.html

To begin a search:

Scroll through the list of databases, which include:

• Congressional Record (beginning 1994)
  Search by fields, followed by and = sign

Issue date: date
Section name: section
Daily Digest pages: digest
House pages: house
Senate pages: senate
Extensions of remarks: extensions

• Congressional Record Index (beginning 1983)
• Congressional Bills (beginning with 103^rd Congress)
• History of Bills (beginning with 1983)
• Congressional documents and reports (beginning with 104^th Congress)
• Committee Prints (beginning with 105^th Congress)
• Committee on Ways and Means Prints, (beginning with 104^th Congress)
• Public Laws (beginning with 103^rd Congress)
• U.S. Code (current edition)

   

To formulate a search:

• Boolean operators AND, OR, NOT, AND ADJ may be used. ALWAYS CAPITALIZE THEM.
• Phrases may be searched by enclosing them in quotation marks or use the operator ADJ to connect words.
• Words may be truncated using the * symbol.

   

Thomas

http://thomas.loc.gov

Legislation:

Bill Summary & Status (93^rd -107^th Congresses, 1973 - present)
Information about bills and amendments
Special feature: Page references to CR (Congressional Record) are linked to the

Congressional Record full text file.
NOTE: Not all information is available for the earlier Congresses.

Bill Text 101st - 107th Congresses (1989 - present)
Full text of bills

Public Laws by Law Number (93^rd -107th Congresses, 1973 - present)
Bill summary and status records for each bill that became public law

Congressional Record:

Congressional Record Text
101st - 107th Congresses (1989 - present)
Full text of daily edition of the Congressional Record

Congressional Record Index (107th - 104th Congresses)
Index to the daily edition of the Congressional Record
Special feature: Page references for index terms (topics) and bill numbers are linked to the Congressional Record full text file.

Committee Reports (104th - 107th Congresses)
Full text of House and Senate committee reports

Historical Documents:
1774 – 1789 (Also includes amendments to the Constitution through the 27^th)
Includes

• broadsides from the Constitutional Convention and Continental Congress
• Declaration of Independence
• Federalist Papers
• United States Constitution, including the Bill of Rights and subsequent amendments, with background information.

   

Year-Congress Conversion Chart, 1961-2010

Finding Compilations of Legislative Histories in the Law Library

Search ILink by placing the term legislative history, in single quotes, into the search window labeled “words and phrases.” Change the next search box so that it will also search for “words and phrases” and type in your topic, as show below:

See also

CCH’s Public Laws & Legislative Histories
Microform
Covers 1984-1997
Arranged by Public Law number
4^th Floor, Documents Dept., Range 31B

CIS/Index to Congressional Publications and Legislative Histories.
Covers 1970 -1988
Arranged by Public Law number
Documents Dept. Index Table

Locations of Cited Materials

(See also Online Sources)

CCH Congressional Index
(in print) Documents Department Index Table

CIS Annual Index to/Abstracts of Congressional Publications and Public Laws
(in print) Documents Department Index Table
OR
(online) http://www.law.lsu.edu/library,
click on Online Reference Sources, and then click on LexisNexis Congressional

Congressional Bills
Documents Department Microform Collection
OR
(online) http://www.law.lsu.edu/library, click on Online Reference Sources, and then click on LexisNexis Congressional

Congressional Record
(in print) 4^th Floor, Range 4 -27/4-28
OR
(online) http://www.law.lsu.edu/library, click on Online Reference Sources, and then click on LexisNexis Congressional

House Calendars
(in print) 4^th Floor, Range 4-26A

House Journals
(in print) 4^th Floor, Range 4-30B
OR
Document Department Microform Collection

Public Papers of the Presidents
(in print) 4^th Floor, GS 4.113: , Range 4-08B

Senate Journals
(in print) 4^th Floor, Range 4-30B
OR
Document Department Microform Collection

Shepard’s United States Citations
(in print) 2^nd Floor, Range 2-18B

Shepard’s Acts and Cases by Popular Name
(in print) 2^nd Floor, Range 2-18B

Slip Laws
(in print) 2^nd Floor, Range 2-11A
OR
(online) http://www.law.lsu.edu/library, click on Online Reference Sources, and then click on LexisNexis Congressional

Supreme Court Reports, Lawyers Edition
(in print) 2^nd Floor, Range 2-15A

United States Code
(in print) 2^nd Floor, Range 2-10B

United States Code Annotated
(in print) 2^nd Floor, Range 2-10A

United States Code Service
(in print) 2^nd Floor, Range 2-10B

United States Code Congressional and Administrative News
(in print) 2^nd Floor, Range 2-11B
OR
(in print) 4^th Floor, Range 4-01A

United States Congressional Serial Set (Committee reports and documents)
(in print) 4^th Floor, Range 4-29A – 4-30B
OR
(online) http://www.law.lsu.edu/library , click on Online Reference Sources, and then click on LexisNexis Congressional

United States Statutes at Large
(in print) 2^nd Floor, Range 2-11A
OR
(in print) 4^th Floor, Range 4-08, GS 4.111:

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents
(in print) 4^th Floor, Range 4-08B, GS 4.114: