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| Carrier Library | CISAT Library | CIT | Media Resources | Music Library | Special Collections | |
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How a U.S. Bill Becomes Law
Steps in Conducting Legislative History
1. Choosing a topic 2. Getting a bill’s history 3. Finding the Public Law 4. Finding committee hearings and reports 5. Locating copies of Congressional debate and vote on the bill 6. Locating President’s statement (if any) upon signing the bill into law 7. Finding copies of regulations that result from the public law
1. Choosing a topic:
Identify a law or program that deals with the issue you are interested in.
Contains full-text of Congressional information since 1970, including Congressional publications, legislative histories, bills, laws, regulations, member biographical and committee assignment information. To search, select CIS Index, then search by Legislative Histories.
Find information on legislation by Congress, search the Congressional Record, or find Committee Information. Public laws from 93rd to 109th Congress (1973-present). Congressional Record covers 101st through 109th Congress (1989-present). Committee reports from 104th – 109th Congress (1995-present).
•If you aren’t sure of a topic, try browsing articles in Congressional Quarterly publications or look at public policy web sites.
CQ Researcher Online or in print in the Reference collection at Ref H 35 .E35. Provides in-depth articles on current, controversial issues; includes bibliographies and more. 1991 to present; updated weekly.
CQ Quarterly Almanac 1961-present. Annual summary of major Congressional legislative activity. Ref JK1 .C66
2. Getting a bill’s history:
This history is a chronological listing of all legislative activity for the bill (who introduced it and when, hearings, any amendments, etc.) A CIS legislative history will identify the primary source documents associated with the law.
Select Legislative Histories.
•Researching bills that did not become public laws:
Select Bills to search.
Congressional Index (CCH) Ref J 69.C6. (1973-present). Use “Status of House Bills” or “Status of Senate Bills” section.
1983-present. Choose History of Bills to search.
Go to Search Bills and Resolutions, then click on Summary and Status of Bills and Resolutions and search by Congress.
3. Finding the Public Law:
United States Statutes at Large Ref KF 50 U52 Library has v. 86 (1972)- v. 117 (2003) in print, and 1789-1972 in microform. If you know the law’s popular name, go to the Popular Names Table. Legal Information Institute also has a table online.
Select Legislative Histories.
Search Public and Private Laws. Coverage from 104th Congress – present (1995-present).
Public laws from 93rd to 109th Congress (1973-present).
United States Code Current 2000 edition in print in the Reference Collection Ref KF 62 2000 A2, or available online through GPO Access or LexisNexis Congressional.
•To get a copy of the bill: Refer to the Public Law to identify the original bill number.
Select Bills.
Search for Congressional Bills, 103rd Congress (1993– present).
Search Bills and Resolutions 101st Congress – present (1989-present).
Congressional Record 1873-ongoing in microform; Print daily editionfor current 4 months in Current Periodicals, Carrier Library, 1st floor.
4. Finding committee hearings and reports:
See LexisNexis Congressional Advanced Search to retrieve hearings and reports.
When researching a bill, a new public law, or legislation prior to 1970, try the following:
Carrier Library is a government document depository and receives text of many hearings. Search by keywords in LEO to locate. For recent hearings, LEO record may include a link to the online version.
•Finding Congressional Research Service publications related to your topic:
Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a resource for policy papers, but their publications are not widely disseminated. JMU Libraries has access to CRS Reports from 2004-present through Lexis-Nexis Congressional Publications Advanced Search. For older reports, try a keyword search in LEO for ”congressional research service” and your topic terms (for example, ”congressional research service” and aging) to see what is in our library. Some reports may be available on the Internet, e.g., OpenCRS.com.
5. Get copies of Congressional debate and vote on the bill:
Congressional Record and Congressional Record Index Nearly verbatim transcript of what happens in Congress, including text of comments submitted in writing for the record as well as spoken (submitted text noted by black bullet). 1873 - ongoing in microform. Print daily edition for current 4 months in Current Periodicals, Carrier Library, 1st floor. To find online, see the following:
Select Congressional Record & Rules. 1985 - present.
Congressional Record 1994 - ongoing. Congressional Record Index, 1983 – present.
Search Congressional Record, 101st Congress – present (1989-present).
6. Get President’s statement (if any) upon signing the bill into Public Law:
Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Online, 1993-present.
7. Finding copies of regulations that result from the public law (or otherwise pertain to your topic):
Regulations for new programs: Daily announcement of new and proposed regulations. Online version covers 1994-present. Also available in microform, covering 1943-2004 LexisNexis Congressional; select Regulations. Government web site that enables the public to comment on new regulations. Search by agency or topic. Regulations for existing government programs:
Code of Federal Regulations Annual compilation of existing agency regulations. Carrier Library has access to the current CFR online and in print. LexisNexis Congressional; select Regulations.
•Other publications to use in your research:
Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications Online version covers 1994-near present. Library has coverage from 1939-2004 in print or microform.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Also print version at Ref HC 110.P63 A554. Current only.
Overview of Entitlement Programs (year) Green Book. Y 4.W 36:10-4/ Official title is Background Material and Data on Major Programs Within the Jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways and Means. Library has 1987, 1990-4, 1996, 1998, 2000-ongoing. Most recent available 2004.
Statistical Abstract of the United States Online version offers current edition and selected earlier editions. Library also has print copies from 1928 (with some years missing; check LEO) and continuously from 1955; Ref HA 202. A35.
Information source for American nonprofit membership organizations.
Conducting Virginia Legislative Histories
As a University of Virginia Law Library legal research guide points out: “Researching the legislative history of Virginia statutes is a far more difficult task than compiling histories of federal legislation. There is no official or comprehensive publication which collects such basic legislative history materials as the text of bills, committee reports, or transcriptions of legislative debates for Virginia legislation. In many cases, it is nearly impossible to compile a complete legislative history of a Virginia statute.” Some online sources are available. Check the Virginia General Assembly Legislative Information System web site to research sessions from 1994-present, and the Division of Legislative Services' Legislative Reference Center web page. The Code of Virginia is available through LexisNexis Legal Research (click on link to State Codes). The Virginia Register of Regulations, and information on the regulatory process in Virginia, is available online.
Print Resources Code of Virginia Ref KFV 2430 1950 .A25. Current Virginia statutes. Each section is followed by parenthetical information about its history. Michie's Jurisprudence Ref KFV 2465.M5 Complete treatise on VA and WV law. Acts of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia GA 5/AC 8/ Found in Carrier Library VA Government Documents, Stack 2B. Virginia Register of Regulations COD 3/R 26/ Found in Carrier Library, Government Documents Area, 1st floor. Reba Leiding Liaison Librarian to Technical & Scientific Communication leidinrm@jmu.edu rev. 09/2007
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