Legislative History

Previously compiled legislative histories are generally available for major legislation in recent decades and can vary in completeness and complexity.  They are harder to find for older legislations and for recently passed laws, however, if they do exist, they can be a goldmine of information.

When a law is passed and published as a Slip Law and in the Statutes at Large, brief legislative history information is included at the end of the statute.  WestlawNext and LexisAdvance include this information at the end of the document when retrieved by Public Law number or the Statute at Large citation. 

PDF versions of the Statutes at Large:

• govinfo.gov: United States Statutes at Large, 1951 to present.
• HeinOnline: U.S. Statutes at Large Library,1789 to present.
• Statutes at Large are also available in print on the 1st Floor of the Law Library, 1789 to 2011.
   

The United States Code Congressional and Administrative News (USCCAN) is published by Westlaw and contains certain collections of congressional and administrative materials from 1948 to present.  USCCAN Legislative Histories may include:

• Selected reports and presidential statements
• Citations to other reports and Congressional Record dates of interest
• Tables of Public Laws, Statutes at Large citations, and legislative histories
• Locations of updated reports

USCCAN is available:

• WestlawNext: USCCAN, 1990 to present.
• USCCAN is also in print on the 3rd Floor of the Law Library. 1941 to 2011.

The “Legislation” link of Congress.gov provides legislative metadata and full text documents for every legislative measure introduced into the U.S. Congress since 1973.  These “bill records” include a brief summary of the measure’s legislative history and may also include the text, any actions taken, titles, amendments, cosponsors, committees, and links to any related bills.

The Department of Justice has assembled and digitized a handful of compiled Legislative Histories on their website, www.justice.gov.

Commercial publishers often compile legislative histories for significant pieces of legislation.  A few of the more common commercial collections include:

• WestlawNext:
  • Arnold & Porter Legislative Histories 
     
• HeinOnline:
  • U.S. Federal Legislative History Title Collection
  • Sources of Compiled Legislative Histories Database
  • Legislative Reference Checklist
  • Congressional Record Daily: Histories of Bills and Resolutions (See “Index” volumes)
  • Subject Specific Legislative Histories:
    • U.S. International Trade Library
    • Tax & Economic Reform in America
    • History of Bankruptcy
    • Immigration Law & Policy in the U.S.
       
• ProQuest Congressional:
  • Legislative Histories 1969-Present (via “Advanced Search”)
     
• CQ Political Reference Suite:
  • CQ Almanac 
    • Offers narrative accounts of every major piece of legislation that lawmakers considered during a congressional session.
       
  • CQ Congress Collection 
    • Includes information and tools to help analyze the “history and development of legislation, powers, and personalities of the U.S. Congress.”

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