Legislative Materials
Bills by version, reports, hearings, the Record, and state and local lawmaking.
A legislature’s papers are evidence about a law, not the law. Before you cite one, answer three questions: which text, which stage, which speaker. One provision shows why. Marriage recognition was section 4 of H.R. 8404 when the House passed it in July 2022. The Senate’s substitute added a findings section, and the same rule became section 5 of the Respect for Marriage Act.
A bill as one chamber passed it
H.R. 8404, 117th Cong. § 4 (as passed by House, July 19, 2022).
- 1 measure designator
- 2 number
- 3 Congress: numbers restart every two years
- 4 section of this version
- 5 stage, in words
- 6 date printed on that version
A floor statement in the daily Record
168 Cong. Rec. S6847 (daily ed. Nov. 29, 2022) (statement of Sen. Lummis).
- 7 volume: one a year
- 8 Congressional Record
- 9 chamber letter and page
- 10 edition and full date
- 11 whose words they are
17.1Bills and resolutions: designator, number, Congress
In the print and Kindle editions
17.2Versions: name the stage you read, then trace it to the law
In the print and Kindle editions
17.3Committee reports, documents, prints and cost estimates
In the print and Kindle editions
17.4Hearings: title, number, date, speaker
In the print and Kindle editions
17.5The Congressional Record: daily and bound editions
In the print and Kindle editions
17.6Speakers, colloquies, insertions, amendments and votes
In the print and Kindle editions
17.7State legislative materials
In the print and Kindle editions
17.8Local legislative history: readings, minutes and adoption
In the print and Kindle editions
17.9Short forms
In the print and Kindle editions
17.10Errors to catch
In the print and Kindle editions