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Updated April 24, 2008.
Prepared by Peggy Jarrett & Cheryl Nyberg.
Researching Legislative History in Washington
Washington State legislative history is generally available from the mid-1970s forward, although some earlier
history may be available. Researchers need to gather all the pieces that
make up a legislative history by starting at a library that collects
legislative publications, and then if need be, contacting the State
Archives for copies of the bill file. If the legislation was passed in the
last two years, researchers need to contact the Committees that reported
on the bill, and if a cassette tape of floor debate is needed, contact the
House and Senate Journal Clerks. Some recent legislative history documents
are available on the Internet or in fee-based
databases.
When researching a legislative history, it
is particularly important to know when to stop. It is often the case that
the more time spent and the farther afield ventured, the lower the rate of
return.
For more complete information, consult Chapter
6, Legislative History, Initiatives, and Bill Tracking, in the
Washington Legal Researcher's Deskbook 3d. KFW75.W37 2002 at Reference
Area & Reference Office.
Researchers may find our legislative history checklist
(Word) useful for reminders
on sources to consult and for note-taking.
On the Internet
Internet-based research is possible only for bill considered and
enacted since 1997.
- Start with a section of the Revised Code of Washington (RCW).
- If you have the RCW citation, retrieve a copy by using the
Washington Legislature's search page
or by browsing the RCW titles.
- If you do not know the RCW citation, search the RCW using the
Washington Legislature's search page.
- Record the session law citations found in brackets at the end of the section.
- Proceed to the Chapter to Bill Table for the proper year at the Washington Legislature's
Bill Information page.
- Note that the Bill Information page features the current biennium.
Use the tabs to go to bill information pages for previous biennia.

- Record the bill number.
Help is available for understanding the various abbreviations used
in the bill information displays.
- Return to the Bill Information page and search by bill number. The presentation of information in these lists varies from one
biennium to the next but the types of information are the same.
- Review, print, or download documents under the bill number.
- Committee reports are often the most useful type of document.
Look for fbr, hbr, or sbr; these abbreviations are used to
designate bill reports.
- History notes the action of a bill through the legislative
process, a chronology.
- Bill text and amendments show how the bill was changed during
the legislative process.
- Because older House and Senate Journals are not available online
you
may need to visit a library that has Journals before 1993.
- The Journals include information not found in online
sources:
- point of inquiry: question and answer about a particular bill
- references to floor debate: needed to request audiotape from House or Senate Journal clerks.
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Free & Commercial Online Sources
| Document type |
WA Legis. |
TVW 1 |
LexisNexis |
Westlaw |
| Bill text |
1985 - |
|
WASH;WATEXT, current
WASH;TEXT00
WASH;TEXT99
WASH;TEXT98
|
WA-BILLTXT, current
WA-BILLTXT-OLD, 1991 - |
| Bill tracking |
1997 - |
|
WASH;WATRCK, current
WASH;TRCKxx, 1990-2000 |
WA-BILLTRK,
current
WA-BILLTRK-OLD,
1991-previous session |
| Bill reports |
1987 - |
|
|
WA-LH-REP, 1997 - |
| Hearings |
|
1997 (audio/video) |
|
|
| Journals 2 |
1993 - |
|
|
|
| Voting records |
House, 2002- |
|
|
WA-LH-VOTES,
1997 - |
| Vetoes |
1997 - 3 |
|
|
|
| Governor's messages |
1997 - 3 |
|
|
WA-LH-MSG,
1997 - |
| Combined sources |
2001 -
2005 - 4 |
|
|
WA-LH, 1997 - |
1. Audio is free; videotapes are available for purchase.
2. A CD-ROM of the final House and Senate Journals for the
2005 session are available. KFW.18.2W33 2005 at Reference Area. The data is in
large Portable Document Format files.
3. Veto messages are included in the Session laws.
4. LEGLink, a fee-based service of the
Washington State Legislature, was discontinued at the end of the 2005
legislative session. Content available as "Detailed Legislative Reports"
includes bill summaries, texts, roll call votes, bill status, companion bills,
bill tracking, floor activity, reports, and indexes.
At the Gallagher Law Library
All materials are in the Reference Area.
- Start
with an RCW section. Note the citation to the session law you wish to
follow (found at the end of each section in brackets).
- Proceed
to the Laws of Washington (1889/90-date; KFW25.A22). Note the bill number,
which along with the year and session, is the key to finding
legislative history. Look for veto messages and effective dates.
- Look
at the Final Legislative Report (1979-date; KFW15.2) for the background,
summary, votes on final passage, effective date, and veto message if
applicable.
- Check
various versions of the bill (1889/90-date; Senate, KFW6.S4; House, KFW6.H6).
- Check
the Legislative Digest and History of Bills (1970-date; KFW15.A2) for
chronology and reporting committees.
- Look
at both the Journal of the Senate (1889/90-date; KFW18.2.W32) and Journal
of the House (1889/90-date; KFW18.2.W3) for points of inquiry, amendments and
substitutions, and dates of floor action.
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At the Washington State Archives
The Washington State Archives in Olympia,
(360) 586-1492, has files on bills introduced after the mid-1970s. The
date varies by individual committee. The files include whatever material
the reporting committee compiled. Committees usually keep bill files for
two years; for current bills, you must contact the reporting committee.
For bills considered before the mid-1970s,
little material is available. Governor's files on specific bills are
sometimes available from 1951-1955 and 1965-1984. Governors' files are not
open until six years after he or she leaves office.
Legislative Council records from 1947-1973
and personal papers of some legislators may also be useful, although the
files are incomplete. See Guide to the Papers of Washington State's
Legislative Archives. CD3576.5.W37 1984 at Reference Office
Committee meeting tapes (real time, not
transcribed) are also available from the mid-1970s. Tapes are not
automatically sent when requesting a bill file; you must specifically
request them.
The Archives has conduct a small number of oral histories of former
legislators.
Oral Histories Published to Date identifies the legislators and links to
the text of the transcribed oral histories (PDF).
The Research Section of the Archives will
pull, copy, and send bill files and committee tapes on request for a
reasonable fee. Archives staff cannot pull and copy sections of massive
legislation: the files are not organized by topic or bill section. The
Archives are open to the public, so you may research any legislative
history yourself. For more information, see the
Legislative
History guide prepared by the State Archives. and/or contact the Archives
staff by email: Research@secstate.wa.gov.
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Current Committee Files
For current bills (those introduced in the
past two years) contact the reporting committee for copies of the bill
files. Occasionally, a committee may keep a bill file beyond the two-year
mark. Both the Final Legislative Report and the Legislative
Digest and History of Bills note the reporting committees.
House and
Senate committee
information is available on the Internet.
House & Senate Journal Tapes
You can request tapes of floor action from
the Journal Clerks. As with the committee tapes, they are not transcribed
and are in real time. To request a tape, you need the bill number and date
of action before writing or calling.
- Senate:
tapes are available from 1971-date; contact the Journal Clerk,
Washington State Senate, Legislative Building, PO Box 40482, Olympia,
WA 98504, (360) 786-7579.
- House:
tapes are available from 1969-date; contact the Journal Clerk,
Washington State House of Representatives, Legislative Building, PO
Box 40600, Olympia, WA 98504, (360) 786-7790.
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Legislative Process & Legislative Intent
The Legislature meets annually beginning on the
second Monday in January. During odd-numbered years the session lasts for
105 days; these are the budget years. During even-numbered years, the
session lasts for 60 days. The Governor may call a special legislative
session lasting 30 days, and the Legislature can call a special session
with a two-thirds vote of both the House and Senate.
More detailed information on the Washington State legislative process
is found in the following sources:
- "Legislative History in Washington," 7 University of
Puget Sound Law Review 571 (1984). Discusses Washington courts’ use
of legislative history and how to research legislative history.
Available on
Hein Online. UW
Restricted
- Sine Die: A Guide to the Washington State Legislative
Process (1997). JK9271.S44 1997 at Reference Area & Reference Office.
- Legislative
Manual, State of Washington.
KFW421.5.R8L5 at Reference Area and Reference Office. Published biennially.
Includes the state constitution, joint rules, Senate rules, House
rules, state officials, list of legislators and standing committees.
Senate and House rules are also available on the Internet:
Permanent
Rules
of the Senate
and Permanent Rules of the House
of Representatives.
- How
a Bill Becomes a Law.
Step-by-step process.
- Overview of the Legislative Process.
- Glossary of Legislative
Terms.
- Statutes and Statutory Construction
(6th ed.). KF425.S25 2002 at Reference Area. Volume
2A includes a general discussion of the use and relative weight of legislative
history.
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Territorial Materials
See Ann Hemmens & Cheryl Nyberg, "Washington Territorial Legal Materials,”
in 2 Pre-statehood Legal Materials: A Fifty-State Research Guide, Including
New York City and the District of Columbia 1323-67. KF240.P688 2005 at
Reference Area.
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Legislative History for Other States
- State
Legislative History Research Guides on the Web links to guides produced by government agencies and law librarians.
- State
Legislative Sourcebook: A Resource Guide to Legislative
Information in the Fifty States.
JK2495.S689, latest edition at Reference Office. Good source. Includes Internet
sites.
- "State Legislative Histories: A Select,
Annotated Bibliography," 85 Law Library Journal 545 (1993). Lists
legislative resources guides for various states. Available on Hein
Online. UW Restricted
- National
Conference of State Legislatures
- Law
Librarians' Society of Washington, DC,
State Legislatures, State Laws,
and State Regulations provides links and phone numbers.
- Pre-statehood Legal Materials: A Fifty-State Research Guide, Including
New York City and the District of Columbia, 2 vols. KF240.P688 2005 at
Reference Area.
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