Seminar: Statutory Interpretation

1
Legislative History

• Seminar Statutory Interpretation
• Prof. Nourse
• Guest Instructor Amy Flick
• October 14, 2009

2
Legislative History Documents

• Compiled legislative histories
• Statutes at Large and Public Laws
• Congressional Reports
• Hearings
• Congressional Record
• Historical Documents

3
Sources for Congressional Documents

• Emory Law Library Guide Legislative History
• Hein Online
• U.S. Federal Legislative History
• U.S. Congressional Documents
• Lexis Congressional
• Lexis
• US Code Congressional and Administrative News
• Westlaw
• Thomas
• FDSys (GPO Access)
• Serial Set
• Readex Serial Set database

4
Starting Points

• Citations Statutes at Large, Public Laws
• U.S. Code History Notes
• Popular Names Tables
• Citations Bill Number
• Statutes at Large, Public Laws, compiled
  histories
• Compiled Legislative Histories Citations,
  sometimes documents
• Lexis Congressional, USCCAN, Thomas, Hein

5
Original Documents

• Original Documents and PDFs
• Government Documents
• FDSys/GPO Access
• Most newer documents
• Hein
• Stat., Cong. Record
• Lexis Congressional
• Older hearings and Cong. Record
• Readex Serial Set
• Older reports

6
Statute RLUIPA

• Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons
  Act of 2000
• 114 Stat. 803
• P.L. 106-274
• S. 2869 (106th Cong.)
• September 22, 2000
• Documents available in most legislative history
  sources

7
2000 Act Compiled Histories

• Guide Compiled Legislative Histories
• Lexis Congressional
• All related documents, including previous
  Congresses
• Citations, SuDocs, document text
• Also on Lexis
• Thomas
• Free
• Bill Summary Status All Congressional Actions
• Links to GPO Access for PDFs

• USCCAN
• Selected documents, excerpted reports
• Westlaw also links to other legislative history
  documents
• Hein
• PDF documents
• Sources of Compiled Legislative History
• Statutes at Large notes
• Statutes at Large/Public Laws
• Legislative History notes
• FDSys/GPO Access, GovDocs

8
RLUIPA Committee Reports

• House and Senate Reports
• No report on the enacted bill, but related report
  H. R. Rpt. 106-219
• Committee reports for section-by-section
  analysis, background, purpose, definitions
• Lexis Congressional citations to all related
  reports, text
• FDSys/GPO Access pdf, retrieve by citation
• Serial Set volumes
• Major reports may be excerpted in USCCAN

9
RLUIPA Other Documents

• Hearings
• Official version (print or pdf) varies from
  unofficial transcripts
• Time lag before official publication
• FDSys pdfs of many hearings
• Search by fields
• Lexis Congressional separate database for pdfs
  of official hearings

• Congressional Record
• Note different pagination Daily and Bound
  editions
• Hein Daily to Bound Locator with date or
  citation
• FDSys
• PDF Daily Edition
• PDF Bound edition (1999-2001)
• Index for page citations, then retrieve by
  citation

10
Historical Statute Civil Rights Act

• Civil Rights Act of 1964
• 78 Stat. 241
• P.L. 88-352
• H.R. 7152 (88th Cong.)
• July 2, 19964
• Documents available in multiple sources, mostly
  as print or pdf

11
1964 Act Compiled Histories

• Hein Federal Legislative Histories
• Compiled legislative history volumes with
  documents Titles VII and XI
• Congressional Record
• Use dates or citations from other sources
• Use the Index/History of Bills to find dates

• USCCAN
• Volumes Range 301, selected reports, excerpts
• Westlaw LH database USCCAN reports
• Westlaw FED-LH database GAO compiled
  legislative histories

12
Civil Rights Act More Documents

• Serial Set
• US Docs Y1 Find by Congress, House or Senate,
  report number
• Readex Serial Set database
• PDFs, search by bill or report number
• Reports S. Rpt. 88-352 and H.R. Rpt. 88-914
• Summary and Section-by-Section Analysis,
  background, history

• Lexis Congressional
• Search Publications related to PL 88-352
• CRS Reports, committee print
• Separate databases for pdf hearings and
  Congressional Record
• Guide Historical Congressional Sources

13
Historical Statute Alien Contract Labor Law

• Alien Contract Labor Law of 1885
• 23 Stat. 332
• H.R. 2550 (48th Cong.)
• February 26, 1885
• Few publications, few sources
• Most sources dont go back that far

14
1885 Act Sources

• Hein Online
• No compiled history, no legislative history notes
  in Statutes at Large
• Congressional Record
• Index/ History of Bills
• H.R. 2550 Cong. Record volumes 15 and 16
• Use the citation navigator with page citations

• Readex Serial Set
• Search by publication or bill number
• S. Rpt. 820 and H.R. Rpt. 444
• Appendices to reports include testimony summaries
• Lexis Congressional
• Citations only, including the bill and report
  numbers