FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE HISTORIES Boston College Law School Library Information Guide #6 What is a Legislative History and How Is It Used? A legislative history is the documentation by Congress of the background and events leading up to the enactment of a law. The legislative history provides evidence that members of the legislative body were aware of particular issues and facts, and includes comments and recommendations of congressional committees and individual members of Congress. A legislative history is used to determine the intent of the legislators in passing a particular statute. When a question arises concerning the applicability or interpretation of a statute, a legislative history can be consulted to better understand the reasons for the enactment of that statute. What Documents Make up a Federal Legislative History? A legislative history includes documentation from all the steps in the law-making process. Different documents have varying degrees of weight in showing congressional intent. The documents which can make up a legislative history include: 1. Bills and amendments. As introduced, reported on, and acted upon by either or both houses, a bill provides information on the original intent and language of its sponsor as well as evidence of deliberate exclusions and inclusions in the bill. Bills are numbered consecutively for the two sessions of each Congress. 2. Hearings. These are transcripts of the testimony of witnesses before House and Senate Committees. Hearings can be used to illustrate that certain issues and considerations were made known to Congress through the hearing process. Hearings are an early step in the legislative process. Hearings are not held for all bills. Neither are all hearings published. For those which are published, there is often a lengthy delay before publication. 3. Committee Prints. Prepared for the use of a given committee, committee prints can be research studies, compilations of materials or statutes, background information, or working drafts of a bill. Committee prints are not automatically published or distributed. Sometimes they are reissued as a House or Senate Document and/or Report or published in the Congressional Record. Some are made available as Committee Prints. 4. Committee Reports. The committee's communication to Congress explains the purpose of the bill and contains the committee's explanations of and recommendations on the bill. Reports may be issued by House, Senate, and Conference Committees, and are numbered consecutively for each Congress and for each house. 5. Debates. These include all activities which occur on the floor of the two houses of Congress. While individual comments during debates are not proof of congressional intent, statements by the bill's sponsor or chairman of the committee reporting the bill, especially those with the stated intention of clarifying or explaining the bill, can have significant weight. 6. Presidential Messages. Delivered to Congress, these explain the reasons for suggesting, signing, or vetoing legislation. While only indirect evidence of congressional intent, they often provide helpful background information about the proposed legislation. What Steps Do I Take in Compiling a Federal Legislative History? The steps outlined here and the tools used in compiling federal legislative histories are explained in the following pages. 1. If a law has been enacted, check to see if a legislative history has already been compiled. 2. If no law has been enacted , first locate the bill number. 3. Determine what significant actions have been taken on the bill. 4. Identify citations to: committee reports (House, Senate, and Conference), hearings held on the bill in the considering Congress, or held on the same topic in previous Congresses, congressional floor action on the bill including debates, floor amendments, and votes, and presidential messages relating to the bill/act. 5. Locate the documents themselves. What Are the Major Finding Tools? 1. Sources of Compiled Legislative Histories Ref KF 42.2 1979. This is a checklist of legislative histories compiled in government documents, periodical articles, and books. It indicates whether the source provides citations only or reprints the documents of the legislative history. It begins with the 1st Congress and is updated periodically. 2. U.S. Code Congressional and Administrative News (1941 to date) Level 1, Wall Bookcases 2 & 3 and Level 3, frame 9 East Both the bi-weekly advance sheets and the bound volumes contain a legislative history table which lists for each public law: date approved, Statutes at Large citation, bill and report numbers, committees that recommended the bill, and dates of consideration and passage in the House and Senate. U.S.C.C.A.N. contains the texts of all Public Laws and selected Committee Reports. 3. CCH Congressional Index Ref Area KF 49 .C6 (1979 to date) & Level 3, range 13 East (1947 to 1978) This looseleaf service, supplemented weekly when Congress is in session, is a good source for finding the current status of bills. Bills are indexed by bill number, author, and subject. References are given to reports, hearings, Public Law number, and voting records. Publication began with the 75th Congress (1937). 4. CIS/Index Ref Area KF 49 .C63x & Microform Room (also in CIS Masterfile II - #5) The Index abstracts and indexes nearly all congressional publications (except the Congressional Record) issued since 1970. A monthly publication, CIS also has two cumulative annual volumes -- one an index, the other a compilation of abstracts of the documents. Starting in 1984 a third annual volume was added indexing legislative histories. Documents can be located by bill number, Public Law number, report number, subject, title, or author. Abstracts are listed by committee. Three multi-year cumulative indexes have been issued, covering 1970-74, 1975-78, 1979-82, and 1983-86. 5. CIS Masterfile II - CD-ROM Reference Area Machine readable version of #4. The database is divided into two segments, "1970-1982," and "1983 thru present," which must be searched separately. 6. Congressional Quarterly (CQ) Weekly Report Ref Area JK 1 .C15 (latest 2 years only) Congressional Quarterly Almanac JK 8 .C64x (1969 to date) CQ contains summaries of Congressional (and other federal government) activities, status of major legislation, lists of recently-passed public laws, and analyses of important legislative issues. This is particularly useful for tracking complex legislation that involves numerous amendments or researching the political background of legislation. 7. Congressional Record Index -- "History of Bills and Resolutions" section Microform Room This status table appears in the bi-weekly index issue of the Congressional Record and is cumulated for the entire session in the bound set in the annual index volume. The arrangement is by bill number, with the title and action noted, and a reference to the Congressional Record page on which the record of the action can be found. A bill number will appear in the bi-weekly index only if the bill has been acted upon during those two weeks; if listed, however, all previous actions for that session will be recorded. 8. Congressional Record -- Daily Digest section Microform Room This provides a brief record of bills acted upon. There is a cumulative volume at the end of each session which provides both subject access and a table, "History of Bills Enacted into Public Law" (arranged by Public Law number), which gives the title, dates introduced and reported, hearings, report number, and the Congressional Record citation. 9. CIS/US Serial Set Index (1789-1969) Ref Area Z 1223 .Z9 C65 (also in CIS Masterfile I - #12) The U.S. Serial Set, compiled under direction of the Government Printing Office, is an on-going collection of congressional publications including House and Senate Committee reports. The Serial Set Index provides access to these reports by subject, keyword, and number. Hearings are not included in the Serial Set. 10. CIS/US Congressional Committee Hearings Index (1833-1969) Ref Area KF 40 .C56 1981 (also in CIS Masterfile I - #12) This index provides access to U.S. Congressional Committee hearings by subject, organization, personal name, title, and bill number. 11. CIS/US Congressional Committee Prints Index ("From the Earliest Publications through 1969") Ref Area Z 1223 .Z7 C66 (also in CIS Masterfile I - #12) This index provides access to a variety of prints prepared for internal committee use by title, subject, author, bill number, Congress and Committee, and Superintendent of Documents Classification number. 12. CIS Masterfile I - CD-ROM Reference Area - see Reference Librarian for access Machine readable version of numbers 9, 10, and 11 with the addition of the CIS Index to Unpublished U.S. Senate Committee Hearings, 1823-1964. 13. Digest of Public General Bills and Resolutions Gov. Docs. LC 14.6: Published by the Library of Congress during each session, with a final cumulative issue, the Digest is a good source for fairly extensive summaries of public bills and resolutions, and also gives the status of proposed legislation. Entries are indexed by bill or resolution number, by sponsor, subject, title and companion bill number. It does NOT give references to debates or hearings. Our holdings begin with the 94th Congress, 1st Session (1975) and end with the 101st Congress, 2nd Session (1990). 14. Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications Ref Area Z 1223 .A18 Hearings, reports, and other documents are listed here by the authoring committee. There are non-cumulative author, subject, and title indexes in each issue, and semi-annual and annual cumulative indexes. Our holdings begin with 1980. How Do I Compile a Federal Legislative History? To compile a legislative history you must obtain cites to the documents that make up the legislative history and gather the documents themselves. Listed here are the steps you go through to obtain the needed cites, and the suggested sources to find that information in a variety of circumstances. 1. Check to see if a legislative history has already been compiled: If you have: you can use: Public Law Number, Sources of Compiled Statutes at Large cite, or Legislative Histories, or Popular Name U.S. Code Congressional and Administrative News Public Law Number (for CIS/Index Legislative legislation passed in 1983 Histories volume or later) Public Law Number (for CIS/Annual Abstracts legislation passed from 1970 volume, "Legislative to 1983) Histories" section. 2. To locate a bill number: if you have: you can use: subject information only on CCH Congressional Index - a bill whether or not it was subject index enacted Public Law Number, sponsor, Digest of Public General Bills or subject information on a and Resolutions (contains a bill whether or not it was brief but thorough summary enacted of the bill) subject or sponsor Congressional Record - Daily information Digest -- annual cumulation a cite to enacted legislation Statutes at Large or slip law. 3. To determine what significant actions have been taken on a bill: if you want: you can use: committee actions and floor CCH Congressional Index - voting status section activities on the floor of Congressional Record Index, Congress "History of Bills and Resolutions" committee reports and floor Digest of Public General Bills voting with a synopsis of the and Resolutions. enacted legislation 4. To locate citations to committee reports: if you want: you can use: report numbers, citations to CIS/Index abstracts and CIS microfiche from 1970+ citations to Serial Set CIS/US Serial Set Index location from 1789-1970 report numbers and dates CCH Congressional Index -- status section Congressional Record - Daily Digest "History of Bills Enacted into Public Law." 5. To find citations to hearings held on the bill or held in previous Congresses on the same topic: if you have: you can use: subject information, persons CIS/Index testifying, or bill number from 1970 to date subject information, persons CIS/Congressional testifying, or bill number Committee Hearings Index from 1833-1969 committee information or Monthly Catalog of U.S. title of hearing Government Publications (library has 1966+). 6. For citations to Congressional debates: if you have: you can use: bill number Congressional Record Index-- "History of Bills and Resolutions" section name of congressperson Congressional Record Index 7. For Presidential messages: if you have: you can use: bill number Congressional Record Index-- "History of Bills and Resolutions" section. date or Public Law number Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents. subject information Public Papers of the President. Where are the Legislative History Documents in Boston College Law Library? The Boston College Law Library has most of the legislative history documents for federal legislation enacted from 1959 to date. The Library also contains records of all the proceedings that took place on the floor of Congress since the ratification of the Constitution. A majority of these materials are available in micro-format and need to be accessed using the finding tools discussed in this information guide. Lexis and Westlaw have developed Legislative databases covering committee reports and congressional records as well as some compiled legislative histories. At Boston College Law Library, access to both LEXIS and WESTLAW is limited by the terms of our contracts to Boston College law students and faculty. 1. Bills. Bills for Congresses beginning with the 96th Congress (1978) are available on microfiche in the Microform Room -- cabinet 5, drawers 1 - 4. 2. Hearings. Beginning with 1959, hearings are available in the Congressional Information Service (CIS) Microfiche Collection, housed in the Microform Room -- cabinets 8 - 13 and 21. The library has paper copies of selected hearings from the 48th Congress to the 94th Congress. Hearings held in the collection in paper copy appear in the library catalogs under the name of the committee and subcommittee, and sometimes by subject or title. Consult a reference librarian for assistance with the library catalogs. 3. Committee Prints. Committee prints since 1970 can be found in the CIS Microfiche Collection, in the Microform Room -- cabinets 8 - 12 and 21. Some committee prints prior to 1970 are available in paper and can be located through the library catalogs. Consult a reference librarian for assistance with the library catalogs. 4. Reports. Beginning with 1959, committee reports are available in the CIS Microfiche Collection and are housed in the Microform Room -- cabinets 8 - 13 and 21. Paper copies of some reports prior to 1977 can be located through the library catalogs. Reports are cataloged by committee, subject, or title. Consult a reference librarian for assistance with the library catalogs. Reports also appear selectively in United States Code Congressional and Administrative News (1941 to date) which is shelved on level 1, Wall Bookcases 2 & 3 and level 3, frame 9 East. Full text of committee reports are also available on Lexis and Westlaw from 1990 to date. 5. Debates. Debates appear in the Congressional Record (1873 to date). Unbound issues of the Congressional Record, Daily Edition are on level 3, range 10. After a delay of approximately five years, the Congressional Record is compiled into annual editions which have a different pagination from the daily edition. Volumes 1 - 60 are on microfilm in cabinet 2, drawers 6 & 7. Volumes 61 - date are on microfiche in cabinet 4 drawer 6. The earliest predecessor of the Congressional Record, the Annals of Congress (1789 - 1824) is on level 2, range 26 East, while its more recent predecessors are in microfilm -- the Register of Debates (1824 - 1837) is in cabinet 2, drawer 7, and the Congressional Globe (1833 - 1873) is in cabinet 2, drawers 5 & 6. The Congressional Record is on Lexis and Westlaw from the 99th Congress (1985 to date). 6. Presidential messages. Presidential messages can be found in two publications, both located in the government documents section of the library. The Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents contains a wide range of documents relating to the Presidency, including messages. Our holdings date from vol. 1 (1965) and have a call number of J 80 .A2844x. Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States begin with the papers of Herbert Hoover and continue to the present. Their call number is J 80 .A284x. Presidential messages are sometimes printed as House or Senate Documents. These are included in the CIS References Many of these sources are available at the Reference Desk (REF) or on reserve (RES) at the Circulation Desk. RES/REF Cohen, Morris L., Robert C. Berring, and Kent C. Olson KF How to Find the Law, 9th ed. (West, 1989). 240 Chapter 7, "Legislative History." .H6 1989 RES Cohen, Morris L. and Kent C. Olson, Legal Research in a KF Nutshell, 5th ed. (West, 1992). Chapter VI, 240 "Legislative History." .C54 1985 RES Jacobstein, J. Myron and Roy M. Mersky, KF Fundamentals of Legal Research, 5th ed. 240 (Foundation Press, 1990). Chapter 10, .J3 "Federal Legislative Histories." 1990 REF Morehead, Joe. Introduction to United Z States Government Documents, 3d ed. 1223 (Libraries Unlimited, 1983). Chapter 7, .Z7 "Legislative Branch Materials." M67 1983 RES/REF Price, Miles O., Harry Bitner, and Shirley KF Bysiewicz, Effective Legal Research, 4th ed. 240 (Little, Brown, 1979). Chapter 4, .P7 "Legislative Histories of Federal Statutes." 1979 KF Singer,Norman J., Statutes and Statutory Construction, 425 5th ed.[Sutherland Statutory Construction] (Clark .S25 Boardman Callaghan, 1992-). Chapter 48, "Extrinsic 1992 Aids--Legislative History." KF Wren, Christopher G. and Jill Robinson Wren, The 240 Legal Research Manual, 2nd ed. (A-R Editions, .W7 1986) Appendix K, "Researching Legislative 1986 History." Joan Shear, Boston College Law School Library February 1994