LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

Step 3: Locate the Committee Minutes for Your Committee

Key to legislative history research in the State Archives collections at the Library are the committee minutes for House and Senate standing committees. Not all minutes for these committees have survived.

The House committee books begin in 1919 and the Senate committee books in 1911. However, the records of both House and Senate judiciary committees begin in 1883. There is also a scattering of House and Senate minutes for the years pre-1919 and pre-1911, respectively.

To Locate Committee Minutes for Your Bill:

• Check the State Archives inventory notebooks under "Legislature: House, Committee Books" or "Legislature: Senate, Committee Books" to locate the committee minutes.
• Minutes are arranged by year and then by committee.
• Use these listings to request the box(es) for the committee that heard your bill.