Keep me logged in until I sign out. With the increase in electronic dissemination, information on current state legislation has blossomed. The search for documents useful in interpreting existing statutes, on the other hand, remains in a darker age. In most states, few publications like congressional committee reports or the Congressional Record exist to provide a record of legislative intent. Legislative journals generally just record actions and do not include transcripts of debates.
Few states publish committee reports or hearings.
One can perform state legislative history research, although the available documentation varies dramatically from state to state. The first step in looking for legislative information on a code section is to determine when the relevant language was enacted. Historical notes following a section may provide this information. Because many state codes simply provide a list of session law citations, it may be necessary to examine the session laws to find when the pertinent material was added or amended. In many states, the various texts of a bill are a major source of legislative history information because they show the actual changes that occurred during consideration.