LibGuides: Policy Analysis: Legislative History

What is a legislative history?

Legislative history includes any of various materials generated in the course of creating legislation, such as committee reports, analysis by legislative counsel, committee hearings, floor debates, and histories of actions taken

"How to" Guides from other institutions

Federal Legislative History
A guide from the Library of Congress
Legislative History Research Guide
Extensive "how to" guide from Georgetown Law.
Federal Legislative History Research
A Practitioner's Guide to Compiling the Documents and Sifting for Legislative Intent
Federal Legislative History from Duke Law
United States Satutes at Large
The United States Statutes at Large, typically referred to as the Statutes at Large, is the permanent collection of all laws and resolutions enacted during each session of Congress. The Statutes at Large is prepared and published by the Office of the Federal Register (OFR), National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) .
Current Legislative Activities
Congress.gov is the official website for U.S. federal legislative information. The site provides access to accurate, timely, and complete legislative information for Members of Congress, legislative agencies, and the public. It is presented by the Library of Congress (LOC) using data from the Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Office of the Secretary of the Senate, the Government Publishing Office, Congressional Budget Office, and the LOC's Congressional Research Service.
Legislation, Regulations & Policies from the CDC
Massachusetts Resources

Databases

HeinOnline
Legal research collection of current and historical materials, including full-text law journals and texts; Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals; U.S. laws, regulations, cases and Congressional materials; international treaties and constitutions, foreign and comparative law materials, United Nations and League of Nations publications; and Jessup moot court information.
Politico Pro
A comprehensive database providing legislative and regulatory insights, data tools and resources for policy research. On-demand, graphic visualization library translates complex policy issues and data sets into infographics. The Document Drawer repository offers primary source documentation. Limited state coverage also included.
U.S Congressional Serial Set
Reports, documents and journals of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.
Congress.gov
ree access to federal legislative information, including full-text access to public laws and congressional bills (103rd Congress forward), House and Senate reports (104th Congress forward), nominations (97th Congress forward), and the Congressional Record (104th Congress forward). Also includes bill status and summary information starting in 1973 (93rd Congress).
Fedsys
Full-text access to bills beginning with the 103rd Congress, the Congressional Record from 1994-present, selected House and Senate hearings from the 99th Congress forward, selected documents from the 94th Congress forward, selected reports from the 104th Congress forward, and “History of Bills and Resolutions” section of Congressional Record Index from 1983-present.
ProQuest Congressional
Information on all aspects of Congressional work. Includes hearing transcripts, committee reports, bills, committee prints, the Congressional Record, the Federal Register, the Code of Federal Regulations, and public laws

Examples

Health Care Reform: A Legislative History of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Public Law No. 111-148 (2010)
Publication Date: 2011

Indian Health Care Improvement Act
Legislative History from the Indian Health Service
A legislative history of federal assistance for health professions training in primary care medicine and dentistry in the United States, 1963-2008.
Acad Med. 2008 Nov;83(11):1004-1