FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
Part 1
Margaret Clark, Reference Librarian
FSU Law Research Center
Fall 2008
Federal Legislative History - 1
What is legislative history?
 Why compile a legislative history?
 Documents that make up leg history
 What tools can I use to search for a
compiled legislative history?

 HeinOnline
 Westlaw
 LexisNexis
 USCCAN
(U.S. Code and Congressional
What is legislative history?
A collection of related documents
produced by Congress during the
enactment, or rejection, of a proposed
public law.
Why compile legislative history?
To clarify questions about a statute if there
are no cases interpreting it.
 To understand the meaning of specific
language or terminology
 To determine legislative intent at the time
statute was enacted

Legislative History Documents
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Bills
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Committee hearings
106 H.R. 275
110 S. 30
Many versions: engrossed enrolled
Hearing on H.R. 5388 before the Comm. on the Judiciary,
109th Cong. 51-76 (2006)
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Committee reports H.Rpt.106-55
Committee prints H.R. Doc No.43 (Title)
Committee documents H. Doc. 105-22
Floor debates 132 Cong. Rec. 32408; CR H2675
Conference report
H. R. Conf. Rep. 105-37
Slip law/session law
Pub. L. 106-386
Not all legislative documents
are created equal!
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7.
Statute text
Conference report’s joint explanatory statement
Committee reports
Remarks, debates
Bill text in various versions
Witness statements in committee hearings
Prints, reports, signing statements, news articles
Excerpted from Richard McKinney’s Federal Legislative History Research,
http://www.llsdc.org/sourcebook/docs/fed-leg-hist.pdf, last updated May 2006
Hearings
Reports
Debates
Popular Name
U.S.Code Citation
VICTIMS of TRAFFICKING and VIOLENCE
PROTECTION ACT OF 2000
STEP 1:
 STEP 2:
 STEP 3:
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STEP 4:
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STEP 5:
Identify public law number
Identify bill number
Check for compiled legislative
history
Find legislative history
documents
Read and analyze documents
Step 1: Identify public law number
VICTIMS of TRAFFICKING and VIOLENCE
PROTECTION ACT OF 2000
 Use Popular Name table from any of
these sources:
 Cornell Popular Name Table web site (free)
 USCA / USCS Popular Name Table
22 USC § 7102
 Use history notes at the end of the USC
section
STEP 1:
Identify public law number
Victims of Trafficking and Violence
Protection Act of 2000
USCA-POP
Trafficking Victims
Protection Act of 2000
STEP 1:
Identify public law number
22 USC § 7102
STEP 2:
Identify bill number
Pub.L. 106-386
Step 3: Check for compiled history
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HeinOnline
Westlaw Arnold and Porter Collection
Lexis Legislative Histories
USCCAN – U.S. Code Congressional &
Administrative News
Hein Online
http://www.law.fsu.edu/library
“Find It Quickly”
HeinOnline
Sources of Compiled Legislation
Hein Online
Hein Online
HeinOnline
Sources of Compiled Legislation
HeinOnline
U.S. Federal Legislative History Title Collection
USCCAN
U.S. Code Congressional and Administrative News

Two sections
 Laws
- Public laws in chronological order
 Legislative History
List of legislative history documents
 Reprints selected documents, e.g. committee reports
 Helpful tables offer checklist

Print begins with 1941
 Westlaw begins with 1973
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Questions?
Civil Rights Act of 1957
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Step 1 : Identify public law number. Where?
Name Table (Internet – Cornell’s Popular Name Table)
 Answer is: P.L. 85-315
 Popular
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Step 2: Identify its bill number. Skip for the moment
Step 3: Check for Compiled Sources. Where?
 HeinOnline
- Bill number?
 Answer is: 85 H.R. 6127
 What source points to actual documents?
 Answer is: Book called “Civil Rights,” edited by B.
Schwartz, 1970
Thank you!
Coming up on Thursday…
FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE HISTORY – part 2
Lexis’ CIS Legislative History database
Westlaw’s Graphical Statutes
Thomas
GPO Access