Washington State Legislative History
description
Transcript of Washington State Legislative History
Washington State Legislative History
Cheryl NybergMarian Gould Gallagher Law Library
University of Washington
Handout
In your handout packetOn the Gallagher Law Library website, http://lib.law.washington.edu/ref/washleghis.html
What Is Legislative History?
Chronological proceeding of a bill through legislative considerationDocuments created through the legislative processUnderstanding the intent of the legislature in enacting the law
Important Considerations
Timeframe: mid-1970s to dateInternet access: 1997 to dateLimited number of useful documentsResearch may not yield useful documentsArchival material available in OlympiaKnow when to say when
Documents & Material
The billOriginalAmendmentsFinal
Bill reportsChronologyHouse and Senate journals
Debates recorded on audiotapesBill files at the State Archives or the committeesVideo archives on TVWNewspapers
Statute to Bill
Historical note indicating date of original enactment and subsequent amendmentRefers to the year, chapter number, and section of the chapterText of session law found in the Laws of Washington, chronological arrangement of laws enacted in Washington
RCW to Session Law
RCW to Session LawRCW 35.21.217Utility services -- Deposit -- Tenants' delinquencies --
Lien.(1) Prior to furnishing utility services, a city or town
may require a deposit to guarantee payment for services. However, failure to require a deposit does not affect the validity of any lien authorized by RCW 35.21.290 or 35.67.200. A city or town may determine how to apply partial payments on past due accounts.
[1998 c 285 § 1.]
Session Law to Bill NumberLegislature’s homepage, http://www.leg.wa.gov/wsladm/default.htm Bill information, http://www.leg.wa.gov/wsladm/bills.cfm Bill information for 1997-1998, http://www.leg.wa.gov/wsladm/billinfo/bills97_98.html Chapter to bill table, http://www.leg.wa.gov/pub/billinfo/1997-98/chapter_to_bill_table.txt
Tips
Look at names of column headings to understand how the information is presentedUse browser’s Edit, Find on Page feature to quickly locate chapter numberRefer to bound volumes of the Laws of Washington for dates before 1997
Bill Information
Bill Info 1997-98
Chapter to Bill Table
ESHB?
For list of acronyms and explanations, see Key to Daily Status ReportNext, House Bill Information
Detailed Bill Info
Bill Documents
Bill to Legislative History
House bill informationSimple arrangement by groups of bill numbers
Several entries with mysterious names and abbreviations
history.txt = procedural history (Legislative Digest and History of Bills)fbr, hbr, sbr = bill reports (Final Legislative Report)date.txt = versions of bill
History
House Bill Report
Journals
Not available under Bill informationUse Legislature’s multi-database Search feature, http://search.leg.wa.gov/basic/textsearch/default.asp
Journal Search
Journal: “Debate Ensued”
Journal: Point of Inquiry
Documents & Material
The billOriginalAmendmentsFinal
Bill reportsChronologyHouse and Senate journals
Debates recorded on audiotapesBill files at the State Archives or the committeesVideo archives on TVWNewspapers
State Archives
TVW
Other Sources
Newspaper articles: interviews with and editorials by legislatorsLaw review articles (more likely for federal legislation than Washington State legislation)Cases
Conclusion
What is legislative history?What do you hope to find?Often a long and winding road that leads to nowhere.When should you stop?
Questions?