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2/10/2012
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Legislative Histories - Step-by-Step

Step 1 - Identify the Public Law number.

Do you already know the number of the Public Law you are researching, e.g., P.L. 79-396?
Yes - Proceed to step 2
No
To determine the number of the Public Law, use one of the following:
  • Shepard's Acts and Cases By Popular Names, Federal & State...
    Reference KF 80 .S5
    provides the citation, including Public Law number.
  • The title and synopsis of laws in U.S. Statutes at Large back to 1789 can be searched by keyword or citation at LexisNexis Congressional.
  • U.S.C.S. - United States Code Service
    Reference KF 62 1972 .L38
    provides the full text of laws currently in effect, arranged by subject. The Public Law numbers for a specific section appear in a history note following the text of the law.
Two other listings of federal laws by name are
TIP #4: Pick a law with documentation that is not overwhelming, but that also has enough substance.

Obviously this tip doesn't apply if you actually need to research the history of a specific law. But if you are trying to pick a law to research for a class assignment about legislative histories, you can search the Legislative Histories file at LexisNexis Congressional by keyword.

To keep the research assignment manageable, generally avoid selecting anything that is part of an omnibus or appropriations law because it will usually be much more difficult to wade through the various issues.

To improve the likelihood that sufficient documentation exists for discussing the pros and cons of the law, select a law with at least one committee report and at least one committee hearing.

After you've picked a Public Law, refrain from exploring the details of the various LexisNexis files until after you've completed steps 2 through 3.
TIP #5: Consider reviewing topics in specialized encyclopedias to identify specific pieces of legislation.
Some useful encyclopedias include:
TIP #6: Complete your preliminary research early in the semester.
As a bare minimum, complete steps 1 through 3 and verify whether or not the law you've selected to research meets your instructor's guidelines. Some students switch laws several times before identifying a law with sufficient documentation to answer all of the assignment questions, but not one that has an overwhelming amount of documentation to review.

Prepared by: Rich Gause, Government Documents Librarian

Last updated May 03, 2011 10:06:59 AM

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