Research Guides: Legislative History Research Guide : Legislative Research in Other States

Legislative Histories in the States

State legislative history can be difficult to find: each state preserves different types of materials (sometimes no material at all) as legislative history; coverage can be spotty, both in terms of dates covered and also the kinds of legislative history documents available for different laws, even in the same jurisdiction; not everything is available online; and there may not be any compiled histories for state statutes.

U.S. State Legislative Resources

USA.gov - State Government Information, 50 States & the District of Columbia

HeinOnline Session Laws Library
Complete session laws and statutes for all states, frequently updated.

Westlaw

Legislative History > State: bill tracking and legislative histories for all states. Coverage varies (current Pace students, faculty, and staff only).

Lexis+

Search: Legislative history > Filters: Category: Statutes and Legislation; Jurisdiction: All States

State Legislatures, Laws, and Regulations: Website Links and Telephone Numbers

(LLSDC Legislative Sourcebook 2018)

New Jersey State Library - Law Library

The major public law library in the state, its collections include an extensive file of New Jersey legislative histories.

Connecticut State Library - Locating Connecticut Legislative History

Complete legislative histories start with acts passed in 1953, and usually contain both House and Senate proceedings.

Law Library of Congress, U.S. States and Territories

Legal and government resources for every U.S. state and territory.

LLMC Digital

Provides access to digitized session laws for all fifty states, although coverage is not complete (available on campus or off campus via VPN).

State and Local Government on Net

Directory of official state, county, and city websites.

Municode.com

Searchable municipal codes, linked from Pace Law Library, A-Z Databases.

Uniform Law Commission (Nat'l Conf. of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws)

An organization that drafts Model Acts and publishes information on passage of model laws in the states, including legislative reports.

National Conference of State Legislatures

Gateway to official state legislature websites for all fifty states; also provides summaries of federal, state, and local actions on various topics.

National Governors' Association

A bipartisan public policy organization that advises its members on innovations and policy recommendations and advocates for its members with the federal government.

Council of State Governments

Founded in the Depression, the Council includes elected and appointed state and territorial officials in the U.S. Its committees, task forces, and policy and research specialists consider and make recommendations on public policy.