Since your legislative history needs to be a bill that has passed, do a search using keywords that describe a topic that interests you. Next, select "Became Law" under "Status of Legislation" in the left column. Choose a law from the results list and explore the Text, Actions, Amendments, Cosponsors, and Committees tabs. You will find much of the information needed for this assignment. If you want to limit your search to the past 15 years you could select those congresses under "Congresses" also in the left column.
Description: Access legislation, committee reports, and the Congressional Record from the 104th Congress (1995) to the present. Member profiles are available from the 93rd Congress (1973) to the present with some profiles from 1929-1972.
Congress.gov is in an initial beta phase with plans to transform the Library of Congress's existing congressional information system into a modern, durable and user-friendly resource. Eventually, it will incorporate all of the information available on THOMAS.gov. Time Period: 2001 to present Sources: Subject Headings: Law, Social Sciences Scholarly or Popular: Semi-scholarly Primary Materials: Legal Materials, Report, Videos Information Included: Full Text, Citations FindIt@BALL STATE: No Print Equivalent: Congressional record, daily digest of the Congress Updates: Daily Number of Simultaneous Users: Unlimited Other:
Since your legislative history needs to be a bill that is passed you will need to identify a public law. So do a search using keywords that describe a topic that interests you. Select a date limit (optional). Look for "Public Law" under "Document Type" in the left column of the results list. You may have to click on "More options" at the bottom of the list to find it. Once you have clicked on a public law, make note of the bill number in the citation field of the record so you can look the bill up in Congress.gov or in ProQuest Congressional. See the "Finding Legislative Histories Box" below.
Description: Key database for information by and about the United States Congress. Includes full text of bills, laws, regulations, the Federal Register, the U.S. Code, and many other congressional publications. Other features include extensive information about members of congress, the bills they sponsored, how they voted, and financial disclosures. Time Period: 1789 to present Primary Materials: Citations, Legal Materials, Maps, Report
Subject Headings: Law, Social Sciences Scholarly or Popular: Scholarly Sources: Information Included: Full Text, Citations FindIt@BALL STATE: No Print Equivalent: None Publisher: ProQuest Updates: Daily Number of Simultaneous Users: Unlimited
The default search is for current legislation, so if you are doing a legislative history you will need to change the dropdown box next to the search box to "All legislation." Next enter the congress number followed by the bill number with no space between them (e.g. 111HR2545). Find your bill on the list. Explore the tabs to find who sponsored the bill, committees, etc. Much of what is needed to complete a legislative history can be found here.
Description: Access legislation, committee reports, and the Congressional Record from the 104th Congress (1995) to the present. Member profiles are available from the 93rd Congress (1973) to the present with some profiles from 1929-1972.
Congress.gov is in an initial beta phase with plans to transform the Library of Congress's existing congressional information system into a modern, durable and user-friendly resource. Eventually, it will incorporate all of the information available on THOMAS.gov. Time Period: 2001 to present Sources: Subject Headings: Law, Social Sciences Scholarly or Popular: Semi-scholarly Primary Materials: Legal Materials, Report, Videos Information Included: Full Text, Citations FindIt@BALL STATE: No Print Equivalent: Congressional record, daily digest of the Congress Updates: Daily Number of Simultaneous Users: Unlimited Other:
Find a legislative history by clicking "Search By Number" under Congressional Publications near the top of your screen. Select "Legislative Histories" under "Content Type". The legislative histories will include bill versions with the dates they were introduced as well as debates, hearings, and committee hearings.
Click on "Retrieve Bill Profile" to the right of "Enacted Bill" to find other information required for a legislative history. Explore the following tabs in the database, Actions, Committees, Sponsors, Floor Votes, Related Publications, and Bill Text.
You can also do a keyword search using terms that describes your policy issue. Results will include hearings, reports, the Congressional Record, and committee prints.
Description: Key database for information by and about the United States Congress. Includes full text of bills, laws, regulations, the Federal Register, the U.S. Code, and many other congressional publications. Other features include extensive information about members of congress, the bills they sponsored, how they voted, and financial disclosures. Time Period: 1789 to present Primary Materials: Citations, Legal Materials, Maps, Report
Subject Headings: Law, Social Sciences Scholarly or Popular: Scholarly Sources: Information Included: Full Text, Citations FindIt@BALL STATE: No Print Equivalent: None Publisher: ProQuest Updates: Daily Number of Simultaneous Users: Unlimited
To find votes in committees you will need to find the committee report. Find your legislation and look for a link to the report in the "Related Documents" column of the "Committee" tab. Download the pdf of the report and look for "Committee Votes" in the table of contents. When you find the committee votes it may say something like, no recorded votes were requested.
Click on "Congressional Publications" above the search box, and then "Search by Number". Find the legislative history for the bill. Select "Legislative History" in the left column of the results list under "Content Type". Once you find the Legislative History, click on "Miscellaneous Other Publications". If the president has made remarks the signing date will be listed there. Make note of the date and use the "Compilation of Presidential Documents" link below to find the remarks.
Description: Key database for information by and about the United States Congress. Includes full text of bills, laws, regulations, the Federal Register, the U.S. Code, and many other congressional publications. Other features include extensive information about members of congress, the bills they sponsored, how they voted, and financial disclosures. Time Period: 1789 to present Primary Materials: Citations, Legal Materials, Maps, Report
Subject Headings: Law, Social Sciences Scholarly or Popular: Scholarly Sources: Information Included: Full Text, Citations FindIt@BALL STATE: No Print Equivalent: None Publisher: ProQuest Updates: Daily Number of Simultaneous Users: Unlimited
The Actions tab of the Congress.gov legislative history may include the date a piece of legislation to a given calendar. If you don't find it here, go to govinfo linked below. Follow the directions below the link.
The Actions tab of the Congress.gov legislative history may include the date a piece of legislation to a given calendar. If you don't find it their, follow these directions. Go to the advanced search select "Congressional Calendars" under "Refine by Collection" and enter the bill number, in quotes ("S. 141") in the search box. This will result in a list of calendars. Click on the "pdf" button on the results list and use CNTRL F to search the document. The results will indicate what congress the calendar is from allowing you to determine which results will be more relevant. Unfortunately, not all of the results on the list will be relevant.
This is the official record of bills passed by the legislative branch which is arranged in chronological order. This print source contains a number of useful finding aids. There is a subject index in the back, and you will find references to reports associated with the bill at the end of the text for the public law. The most recent edition we have is from 2012. Note: Also see the "Finding Legislative Histories" box above for the full text of public laws.