Federal Legislative History  

To access CALI lessons, FSU law students must first receive a school authorization code. You must use this code to register online.  If you do not have a school authorization code, contact a librarian.  

How are laws made?

Learn about the legislative process using educational resources from the Library of Congress. 

How do I start researching legislative history?

To research legislative history, you will need to figure out what course a bill took after it was introduced.  So a bill number is key in identifying the major legislative history documents associated with it.  It is also helpful to know the public law number and Statutes-at-Large citation.

If you are beginning with a U.S. Code citation, refer to the historical notes at the end of each section of the U.S. Code which will cite to at least one public law number.

If you are beginning with a popular name of a law (e.g. Americans with Disabilities Act), refer to the Popular Name tables on the Thomas web site, Cornell’s Popoular Name Table online site, or the print or electronic versions USCA and USCS.