A legislative history is a collection of documents that are produced by Congress as a bill goes through the legislative process of becoming a public law. Legislative histories can help you determine the intent, meaning and purpose of a particular law. The types of documents found in a legislative history will include the following:
This guide focuses primarily on legislative documents and resources available electronically through the Howard-Tilton Library's subscription databases, or freely available through the U.S. government.
For assistance with more advanced legal research, please contact the Law Library
Most legislative history documents are available electonically either free through the government, or in commercial subscription databases. The following resources provide legislative documents found in a legislative history, as well as full legislative histories for some laws.
Tracking the histories of state legislation can be more challenging than at the federal level. For help with researching Louisiana legislative histories, consult this guide from the Law Library of Louisiana.
