Legislative History

• Documentation of the process of the enactment of a law
• Legislative Intent
  • Reasons for enactment
  • Issues considered
  • Resolving ambiguities
  • Explaining the language used
• Bill Tracking
  • Status of pending bills

Using Legislative History

• Legislative Intent
  • Reasons for enactment
  • Issues considered
  • Choosing among reasonable interpretations of language
  • Statutes sometimes intentionally vague or unclear
• Debate over use
  • Sponsor's views
  • Textualists:  Plain meaning of legislative language only
  • Some judges give it weight in interpreting the legislature's intent; others give it little or no weight
  • Reduced use in recent years
  • Exxon Mobil v. Allapattah Services:  Impermissible to consult legislative history when statutory language is unambiguous
• General purpose of act vs. smaller provisions
• Bill Tracking
• Status of current and pending legislation
• State of the legislative process
• Monitoring for legislation that may affect a statute relied on in a case, or may affect a client

Starting Point citations

• To find the Statutes at Large or Public Laws citations, use the US Code History Notes or Popular Names Tables
• To find the bill number, use Statutes at Large, Public Laws, or compiled histories
• To find compiled legislative histories with citations, including for Senate and House Reports, use Proquest Congressional, USCCAN (Westlaw), Thomas, and Hein

Video clip:  The Daily Show explains Congress and lobbyists