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Statutes at Large Core Collections on 2nd and 3rd floors, KF50 .U55
Statutes at Large (1789 to date; for earlier editions see The Public Statutes at Large of the United States of America: from the organization of the government in 1789 to March 3, 1845)
The best quick mini-legislative history is found at the end of the Statutes at Large entries beginning with Volume 89 in 1975. There you will find the companion bill number, the House and Senate report numbers and any conference committee report citations.
In addition, tables at the end of the volumes list passage dates in both chambers and the dates of any presidential statements.
Where to find Statutes at Large:
- Statutes at Large (print copies, 1789 to date)
- Thomas (1973 to date)
- GPO Access (1995 to date)
- LexisNexis Congressional (From the website: "This form searches the Statutes At Large from 1789 to 1997. Only the name and synopsis of the law are searched. The full text of the law is in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). The Statutes at Large is updated annually.")
InfoHawk Catalog Federal Legislative Histories: An Annotated Bibliography And Index To Officially Published Sources, by Bernard D. Reams. Law Reference KF42.2 1994
Reams' work consists of an annotated bibliography and five indices providing access to the bibliography, comprised of 255 legislative histories. According to the "Explanatory Guide and Table," the indices are organized according to "the author of the document, the popular name of the public law, Congressional session law numbers before 1901, public law numbers after 1900, and bill number." Sources of Compiled Legislative Histories, by Nancy Johnson. Law Reference KF42.2 1979
Johnson provides tables listing the relevant Public Law and bill number, as well as the Statutes at Large citation, the act's title, and then yes/no check offs for committee reports, committee hearings, and floor debates. Coverage is very selective prior to 1950, but then becomes more comprehensive through more recent updates, currently including the 107th Congress. Union List of Legislative Histories: 47th Congress, 1883 Through the 91st Congress, 1970 Law Stacks KF42.2 1967
The Law Librarians' Society of Washington, DC published the Union List. It has extensive tables for selected statutes from the 47th Congress through the 91st Congress. The tables include Public Law number, bill number, subject, and citation to the Statutes at Large. Legislative Reference Checklist: The Key to Legislative Histories From 1789-1903, by Eugene Nabors. Law Documents Reference KF49 .L43 1982
Thirty-two volumes of the Statutes at Large published between 1789 and 1903 contained no references to statutory bill numbers, which are the key to compiling federal legislative histories because Congress considers, amends, and debates bills primarily in reference to the bill number (and where applicable, popular names).
Nabors, employed in the American-British Law Division of the US Library of Congress, compiled tables that provide the bill numbers omitted from the above-cited volumes. The tables list Public Law/resolution chapters and numbers, Statutes at Large citations, dates on which laws received presidential approval, and the all important bill numbers.
U.S. Code Congressional & Administrative News (USCCAN) Core Collections on 2nd and 3rd floors, KF48 .U54
The well-organized legislative history tables in USCCAN provide only partial legislative histories. There is selective citing of committee reports and conference committee reports. The hearings, however, are not cited. Also, note that USCCAN began in 1941 as the U.S. Code Congressional Service.
The monthly advance sheets and, when bound, one of the annual bound volumes, contain legislative history tables listing information on each bill that is successfully enacted: 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.
In addition, USCCAN contains the texts of all Public Laws passed during a given Congressional session and selected Committee Reports.
See Westlaw (Under "U.S. Federal Materials" use "U.S. Code Congressional & Administrative News Link" (USCCAN) for ten additional USCCAN databases). LexisNexis Congressional LexisNexis (UI Law Faculty and Students Only) (Use "Federal Legal U.S." link, followed by "Legislative Histories & Materials" link to reach over two dozen relevant databases.) Westlaw (UI Law Faculty and Students Only) (Use "U.S. Federal Materials" link, then go to Arnold and Porter Legislative Histories database.
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