Legislative Documents - Law School Papers and Law Review Notes & Comments - Research Strategies - LibGuides at University of San Francisco School of Law

Introduction

Consider legislative history research when you would like more information on the background of a federal statute that is central to your topic.

Consider Congressional Research Service reports whenever if might be useful to have an objective and thorough summary of a public policy issue.

Federal Legislative History

Here are some useful places to start. For more information, see the Zief Library Federal Legislative History research guide. You can also ask a Zief Librarian for advice specific to your topic.

Legislative Insight - ProQuest This link opens in a new window
Legislative Insight's sophisticated search of compiled federal legislative history documents quickly retrieves the most relevant documents. Includes access to: Public Law text; all versions of enacted & related bills; Congressional Record excerpts; committee hearings; and committee reports. Also includes Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports, committee prints, and Presidential signing statements. See the Quick Start Guide for more. Coverage begins with 1789
Sources of Compiled Legislative History - HeinOnline This link opens in a new window
References (with links, where available) to articles and other sources that compile legislative history documents and citations. Part of HeinOnline's "U.S. Federal Legislative History Library." [For current USF faculty, students, and staff.] Also available in print in the Zief Library at KF 42.12 1979 Law Reference.
ProQuest Congressional This link opens in a new window
To find documents related to enacted legislation (e.g., Public Law 107-296): (1) Select "Search by Number"; (2) Select "Legislative Citations; (4) Select "Public Law Number" ; (5) Select the Congress, e.g., 107, from the pull-down menu; (6) enter the Public Law number, e.g., 296 in the adjacent text box. After your search runs, select "Legislative History" from the "Document Type" filter on the left. (If you have the U.S. Code citation, you can readily find the Public Law number.)

California Legislative History

Finding California Legislative History
A Zief Library research guide detailing the arduous process of California legislative history research.

California legislative history is much, much more difficult and time consuming than federal legislative history. For an idea of what is involved, take a look this Zief Library research guide on finding California legislative history. If you still want to proceed, we recommend that you schedule a consultation with a Zief research librarian.

Congressional Research Service Reports

If your topic touches on any issue involving any aspect of public policy, consider searching for a Congressional Research Service report. These are reports prepared for members of Congress by subject experts at the Library of Congress's Congressional Research Service. They are based on thorough research and contain useful citations to other reliable information.

Some sources:

ProQuest Congressional This link opens in a new window
By far the most comprehensive source. Limited to USF students, faculty, and staff.
To find relevant CRS reports, run your search, then select "CRS Report" from the "Document Type" menu on the left-hand side of the screen.

CRS Reports - Univ. of North Texas Digital Library
More than 20,000 CRS reports from 1970 to the present
CRSReports.com
A free source that claims to have the largest free collection of CRS reports on the internet.
Archive-It — Congressional Research Service Reports
Archive-It tries to collect all CRS reports from 2008 to the present.
Congressional Research Reports - Federation of American Scientists
A freely-available collection of CRS reports dealing primarily with national security.