Reference Sources on Legislation
- CQ AlmanacAnnual summary of legislation, pointing to relevant bills, reports, and amendments. Includes key votes, roll call votes and vote studies. Highly recommended as a starting point for legislative research! Also available in print: Olin Library Reference, JK1 .C66 +
- CQ Weekly, 1998 - .Articles summarize the work of the U.S. Congress, including the status of bills, votes and amendments, floor and committee activity, backroom maneuvering, etc.
CQ Weekly, 1993-2015 (print)
Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, 1956-1998 (print). - GovTrack"We publish the status of federal legislation, information about your representative and senators in Congress including voting records, and original research on legislation. We’re one of the oldest government transparency websites in the world." See: About GovTrack.us
- OpenSecrets (Center for Responsive Politics)Campaign contributions at the federal and state levels, by candidate and donor. Also includes information about PACs, lobbyists, and Congressional committees.
Congressional bills
- ProQuest Congressional PublicationsIncludes the history of bills as they work their way through Congress. Includes bills that have failed (either died in committee or failed in a roll call vote) and bills that have passed to become law (PL ___).
- Proquest Legislative InsightFor bills that have passed to become public laws. Complete legislative history, including links to relevant Supreme Court cases. The "Legislative Process" link, along the top of the page for a Public Law, includes an excellent guide to the intricacies of moving a bill through Congress.
State bills
- NCSL (National Conference of State Legislatures)Look under Research to find Bill Tracking. The A-to-Z issues list is also extremely helpful. Some parts of the site are only available to legislators, but the publicly-available information is excellent.
- Nexis UniFrom the top menu (next to the Nexis Uni logo), select All Sources > Category: Statutes and Legislation >Jurisdiction (state) >Category: Bill Tracking.
Please note: You do not need to register with Nexis Uni to search or download content. Registering with a database will always carry privacy risks.
Public Laws : Online Sources
- ProQuest Congressional PublicationsIncludes bills, resolutions, reports, hearings and the Congressional Record ("verbatim" account of the proceedings and debates on floor of the House and Senate).
1789 -- current
Public Law number (P.L. ___ )
In Proquest Congressional, select Bills by Number --> Search by Number from the menu.
If you don't already have the number, select the Advanced Search.
Unselect all, and select only Bills and Laws (1789 - ).
Search by topic word, or bill sponsor, or vote report (by sponsor), and more.
Limit by date or Session of Congress.
- Statutes at Large, 1789-18751789 - 1875 From the Library of Congress, American Memory Project.
- Congress.govCongress.gov is the official website for U.S. federal legislative information. The site provides access to accurate, timely, and complete legislative information for Members of Congress, legislative agencies, and the general public.
- govinfo1994/95 (104th Congress) -- current. (Slip Laws)
Authenticated government documents from the Government Printing Office.