Legal Research

RAQ: Recently Asked Questions

In this occasional feature, we highlight recently asked questions and brief answers from the Law Library reference desk.

Q: What is legislative history and why is it used?

A: Legislative history consists of the records generated by a legislature as it develops legislation. It exists for any bill that is introduced, regardless of whether that bill is finally enacted. Legislative history serves two purposes. First, it is used as evidence of the intent of the legislature in enacting a law. This evidence can support an interpretation of an existing law that is ambiguous, especially when there are no court rulings interpreting the law. Second, legislative history is used to track the progress of bills while they are under consideration in the legislature. Special tools help record the progress of a bill through each step in the prescribed lawmaking process. When you conduct legislative history research, you should focus on finding bill texts (all versions, if possible), floor proceedings (debates, votes), and committee proceedings (e.g., minutes, testimony, exhibits). We recommend the following guides for help in finding legislative history.

Finding Federal Legislative History at http://local.law.umn.edu/library/pathfinders/federallegislativehistory.html

United States Laws and Legislation Guide at http://govpubs.lib.umn.edu/guides/leg.phtml (lists materials produced at each step in the legislative process)

Minnesota Legislative History Step by Step at http://www.leg.state.mn.us/leg/leghist/histstep.asp

Have your own reference question? Call or email the reference desk at 612-625-4309 or law-ref@umn.edu.

Full post as published by LexLibris on March 26, 2009 (boomark / email).