federal legislative histories
DESCRIPTION
Federal Legislative Histories. AALL Quick Start Basic Legal Reference Workshop July 9, 2004. Why use legislative history?. To determine the meaning of an unclear statute. Clarify questions about a statute if there are no cases interpreting or construing it. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
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Federal Legislative Histories
AALL Quick Start Basic Legal Reference Workshop
July 9, 2004
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Why use legislative history?
To determine the meaning of an unclear statute.
Clarify questions about a statute if there are no cases interpreting or construing it.
To gain insight into legislative intent at the time the statute was enacted – how the words were intended to be understood.
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Weight of Authority
A legislative history document or compilation of documents is only persuasive authority to a court of law.
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What is a legislative history?
Basic DefinitionCongressional documents that contain the
information available and considered by the legislature prior to the enactment of a law or the rejection of a proposed law.
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What is a legislative history?
Process-Oriented DefinitionThe results of research into the
documentary records created by the legislature in it’s formulation, consideration and passage or rejection of a proposed law.
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What is a legislative history?
Identifying if a bill did or did not become the law the purpose of a law or section of a law the amendments offered to a bill the reports of the committees to which the
bill was assigneddebates on the billother documents associated with a bill the current status of pending legislation
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Documents
Bills Versions as pass through legislative process Floor amendments
Committee hearings witness testimony
Committee Reports especially Conference Report
Floor debates Congressional Record
Committee Prints Staff research/good historic & background information
Presidential signing statements
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Steps in the Process
Popular Name or a U.S. Code citation Identify the public law number Identify the Congress, bill number and year of
enactment Use a legislative history finding tool or source
to identify individual documents Retrieve and read the documents
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Legislative History finding Tools and sources
Use a tool or source that provides a “compiled” legislative history document identification (At least!) document identification AND full text (Great!) document identification, full text AND cross
Congress searching (Yes!!!)
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Sources for Compiled Histories or Information
U.S. Code Congressional & Administrative News (U.S.C.C.A.N.)
Sources of Compiled Legislative Histories (Johnson)
Law Review Articles
Committee Prints
Library Catalogs – for Treatises
CIS Index and Abstracts, Legislative History volume Congressional Universe
Loose Leaf services (specific subject areas)
Congressional Quarterly publications CQ Almanac CQ Weekly Report CQ.com (compilation of databases)
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Public Laws
Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 29 U.S.C. §2612 et seq. February 5, 1993, P.L. 103-3, 107 Stat. 6 103rd Cong., 1st Sess. H.R. 1
Brady Handgun Violence Protection Act 18 U.S.C. §922 November 30, 1993, P.L. 103-159, 107 Stat. 1536 103rd Cong., 2d Sess. H.R. 1025
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CIS86:H623-9 21p.
CIS Accession No. (Used to retrieve full text from microfiche library)
Y1.1/8:99-699/pt.1
SuDoc. No.