Following the tortuous path of a bill that was amended dozens or hundreds of times may not be worth the necessary investment of time. Other, more accessible sources are sometimes available. If a state adopts a uniform or model act, the comments of the committee that drafted the act were presumably considered by the legislature and would be persuasive in interpreting the text. Many states have law revision commissions, legislative research commissions, or interim study committees that analyze the need for legislation and submit recommendations to the legislature. Their reports can be important documents in evaluating a statute's scope and purpose.
Some states have other documents that can provide useful information.
These bill jackets are available on microfilm back to 1921. Some files of this sort are not so widely available. Files for bills introduced since 1989 are open to inspection, but earlier files can be seen only with the permission of the bill's sponsor. If the sponsor has died, the files are permanently closed. There are no files before 1960, and those for 1980-81 were accidentally discarded.