Conducting a Legislative History
A legislative history is conducted to closely examine the intent of a law, or to investigate how the final law was shaped by the legislative process - as evidenced by the various versions of the original bill, hearings that took place in the House or Senate Committee to which the bill was assigned, reports and documents created in connection with the consideration of the bill, floor debates, and the final record of voting on the bill.
This guide brings together tips and sources for conducting a legislative history - incorporating both print and online, public-domain and commercially licensed resources available to UConn researchers.
Sources conducted for this guide:
Legislative History: Research for the Interpretation of Laws by Call Number: Homer Babbidge Library Stacks KF425 .F64ISBN: 081390420XPublication Date: 1972
Statutory Interpretation: a Pragmatic Approach by Call Number: Homer Babbidge Library Stacks KF 425 .P675 2018ISBN: 9781531007607Publication Date: 2017-12-01This coursebook emphasizes a particular perspective on statutory interpretation¿pragmatic judging, which means that the judge is influenced by substantive background considerations. This perspective is also sensitive to the historical framework that shapes modern statutory interpretation, to the institutional setting in which interpretation occurs, and to the reality that statutes can be a source of law (even when there is no common law power). The book concludes with an exploration of the rules governing the lawmaking process, especially those found in state constitutions.
Online:
- Federal Legislative History Research: A Practitinoer's Guide to Compiling the Documents and Sifting for Legislative Intentby Richard J. McKinney and Ellen A. Sweet. Law Librarians' Society of Washington, D.C., Inc.
- How Our Laws Are Made((House Document 110-49); revised and updated by John V. Sullivan, Parliamentarian, United States House of Representatives, July 2007.)
- Compiling a Federal Legislative History: A Beginner's GuideA comprehensive research guide on finding federal legislative history documents, including congressional committee reports and hearings, presidential signing statements, and the debates of Congress.
Documents that may be created during the legislative process
Documents that may be created during the legislative process:
Image source: https://quotesgram.com/legislative-process-quotes/#M2B4VgRlBS
