Law and Legal Studies
Legislative process
- The Legislative ProcessThis resource from the U.S. Congress uses video and text to explain how a bill becomes law.
- The Legislative Process in MassachusettsDescribes how bills become law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Bills
A bill is a proposed law, or a proposed amendment to a law. Bills are introduced in Congress (the federal legislature) or in the state legislature, and go through a process by which they are studied, changed, and voted on. Not all bills are enacted as law. Some are voted against, and some do not finish the process before the legislative session ends (these bills are said to have "died").
It can be useful to look at a law's history to provide context to its creation and the intention of the legislators. Other documents surrounding the bill process (reports, debates, etc.) can enhance research.
Current and past bills can be found at legislatures' respective web pages.
- United States CongressHere you can access legislation, bills, committee reports, and find representatives.
- Massachusetts Legislature (General Court)The Massachusetts General Court webpage includes bills going back to 2009-2010 legislature.
- DSpace: State Library of MassachusettsThe electronic repository of the State Library of Massachusetts includes current and historical materials from state agencies and the legislature.
- MassTrac This link opens in a new windowA subscription-based service that includes the text of Massachusetts bills from 1995 to present, along with committee reports and debates. Users can track the status of bills as they move through the legislature.
- National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) 50-State Bill Tracking DatabaseThe National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) offers a database that tracks state bills (current and historical) in various areas of law.
- LegiScanAllows researchers to view and track the status of bills of all 50 states and the U.S. Congress.
- Bill Track 50A site to track bills from all 50 states and access committee reports and other legislative documents.
- GovTrackA service that provides the ability to find and track bills in the U.S. Congress. Bills can be searched by number, by sponsor, or by policy area.
- ProQuest Legislative and Executive Publications This link opens in a new windowUsing this database you can search bills of the U.S. Congress (whether or not they were enacted) and access other publications related to the bill (e.g. Congressional records, committee reports, etc.).
- CQ Congress Collection This link opens in a new windowInformation on Congress members, how they vote, and how they are rated by interest groups.
