The University of Alabama School of Law
The University of Alabama School of Law
The home page allows options for searching and browsing. It searches for compiled legislative histories (which is the focus of the database).
You'll notice just below the search bar, there is a list of Popular Law Names, as well as Search Tips.
Just above the search bar, you'll notice there's also a helpful Citation Checker that shows, for example, the public law or Statute at Large citation if you have an enacted bill. See below for more information on using the Citation Checker.
The middle of the page provides more information, namely links to Popular Topics, which are useful pages that have compiled lists of legislative histories that all pertain to a specific topic. You can also find a link that will redirect users to a page where they can Browse all Topics Pages.
When searching, notice that the interface has a type-ahead suggestion feature that shows users keywords, subjects, and laws that are in the database. These are known metadata suggestions from the database that suggest matches from Popular Law names, Subject Terms, and Document Titles. The Popular Law names are assigned from the Short Titles given by Congress in the Acts themselves, or assigned by the House Office of Law Revision Counsel when they classify the Act and organize it in the U.S. Code. You can browse these Popular Names to see if your topic is listed by clicking on the Popular Law Names list pop-up box. This database also includes common names that some laws have acquired over time and by use in our descriptors database, such as Obamacare. When you select a suggestion, it will search all compiled legislative histories for that term or phrase.
You can also use the search bar to search specific words or phrases. Don't forget to use quotes if you're looking for an exact match. See here for more information on the Search Tips page.
The Citation Checker allows you to identify if a legislative history exists for a particular citation that you might have from another source. Each law covered in our database has multiple legislative citations associated with it (depending on the date of the enacted law) – such as Public Law (PL) number if it is after 1901 or the 57th Congress, a bill number (the database has added their own bill numbers to the 1-14th Congresses before Congress started using a numbering system), and a Statute at Large (Stat.) citation.
For example, if you know a bill number, you can enter it into the Citation Checker (use the format you see below the box) to see if it was enacted, and if the database has compiled a legislative history. You'll notice there is some delay as you type because the search engine is matching the characters you type to see if there is a match to suggest. If the bill was enacted, you'll see the associated PL number, if it exists, and Stat. cite (allowing you to therefore check the citation to see if it passed into law!) and a button directing you to retrieve the legislative history appears.
If the history does not exist yet or is not part of the law library's subscription, you'll see associated citations but no button. If no information populates the other boxes, that bill did not pass.
If you enter a PL number, using a format with the Congress and the sequential law number, you should automatically see the associated citations. Because bill and Public Law number formats have stayed the same, those are the best pieces of information to use to retrieve the associated legislative history, if you already know that information.
However, if you information is from before 1956, you might be given a Stat. citation that contains a Chapter number. As you type, it is important that you match the search format noted below the box EXACTLY, including the spaces. Capitalization and punctuation is not important but the spaces between the elements are essential. So you can type 3 stat 310 chap 107, or 3 Stat. 310, Chap. 107, or 3 Stat. 310, Chap: 107.
In 1957, use of chapter numbers was discontinued, and you'll have just a volume and page number. However, sometimes you'll have a page number for a Stat. volume that identifies where a particular section of an Act begins, the database calls this an internal page number. The Stat. cite that you need to enter is to the FIRST page in the Stat. volume where that Act begins, not an internal page. So if you have a known Stat. cite but don't get a match, you may need to use another piece of information to find that law - such as the Popular Law name of the USCS citation.
The Advanced Search tab guides you through the process of creating complex searches to help you find specific publications or documents related to en enacted public law.
Use the Search by Number tab to retrieve all the publications related to a specific bill or resolution number by entering that information in the Bill Number form.
The results would include that bill itself (all versions), as well as documents tagged with that bill number, i.e. publications that have that bill number in the metadata in the document abstract (they are related to the bill, and thus would be included in a legislative history that included the bill.) You can also use the Public Law number or Statute at Large citation in the same way.
The difference between using this form on the Search by Number page and entering a citation on the Home screen is that the Home screen is only retrieving Legislative Histories. The Search by Number form retrieves Legislative Histories and other publications in the Legislative Insight database.
You can also use the Search by Number function to search for histories using a Public Law Number, Statute at Large, etc.