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Minnesota Legislative History Guide

Library staff assistance should not be construed as a substitute for professional legal research aid.

Contact Information | Location of Tapes/Committee Books/Minutes | Tape Copies | Location of Files/Bills | Private Leg. History Firms | Additional Tips | Citing Minnesota Legal Sources

Introduction to Legislative History: An Overview

The primary sources of information for legislative history research are the recordings of House and Senate committee hearings and floor sessions. Comprehensive Internet coverage of these hearings began in 2004. Prior to these years, only selected Internet coverage is available (House audio/video since 1998, Senate audio/video since 2001).

Prior to 2004, the hearings were recorded on cassette tapes. The Legislative Reference Library houses the more recent materials and the Minnesota Historical Society Library (MHS) keeps the older materials (location of legislative history materials). For older bills, where recordings are not available, the House and Senate Committee Minutes are the primary source of information available for legislative intent research. These older minutes are available at the MHS Library. Since 1995, preliminary legislative history research can be completed online; prior to 1995 printed legislative materials must be used.

For further guidance, see Additional Tips.

Legislative History Research Tools

Legislative History Step by Step

  1. Identify the Minnesota Statutes you want to research.
  2. Find the History note at the end of the Minnesota Statutes section.

    Statute

    The citations are to the Laws of Minnesota/Minnesota Session Laws. The abbreviations are c=chapter, art=article, s=section.
  3. Go to the Laws of Minnesota (also referred to as Minnesota Session Laws) for each year listed. Look up the appropriate chapter (c), article (art), and section (s) numbers listed after each year in the history section to determine which year(s) the language you are interested in has been amended. New language is underlined while deleted language is crossed out. Continue through the history section references checking each year until you've identified when your language was added/deleted. If you are using the online Minnesota Statutes, click on the hypertext links in the history section and they will link directly to the Laws of Minnesota from each year.
  4. Look at the beginning of the chapter to locate the Senate File (S.F.) or House File (H.F.) number in the chapter heading. This is your bill number. If your bill passed prior to 1995, go to Step 6. If your bill passed after 1994, go to Step 5.

    Session Law

  5. Find committees and floor debates (after 1994). If you are unfamiliar with the legislative process, go to Using Internet Resources to Research House Bill and Senate Bill Status for detailed information on how to proceed using electronic resources, otherwise find the "History and Authors" link in the red column on the left side of the page in the online version of the chapter of Session Laws that you are researching. Click on it to find the actions taken on the bill in the House and the Senate.

    Sidebar Navigation: History and Authors Link

  6. Find committees and floor debates (before 1994). Retrieve the index volume of the House or Senate Journal for the appropriate year. Please note, each index covers a biennium (two year period). If you know the House File number you will use the House Journal index; if you know the Senate File number you will use the Senate Journal index.

    Journal Page

    Definitions of the terms used in the Journals can be found in the Glossary for the Numerical Index of the House and Senate Journals. See Using the House and Senate Journals for further help in using the Journals.
  7. Write down all relevant actions. The number in the "First Reading and Reference" column refers to the page where the bill was introduced. Turn to that page and note which committee the bill was referred to. Continue to look up the remaining page numbers and write down all relevant actions and the dates they occurred, which can be found at the top of the Journal page. Relevant information includes names of committees, floor amendments (write down the date located at the top of the Journal page), and conference committee action (if applicable).
  8. Research the companion bill. Return to the index volume. Use the Companion Numbers/Bills index to see if a companion bill exists. If so, go back to Step 6 and repeat the process using the companion bill number. Once this is done, go to either the "Senate Record of House Bills" index or the "Numerical Index of Senate Bills Transmitted to the House" index in the Journal index you've just used and look up the actions taken on the original bill number (identified in Step 4).
  9. Determine hearing dates. Proceed to the Legislative Reference Library (645 State Office Building, 8 am - 4:30 pm, Monday - Friday) or the Minnesota Historical Society Library to review committee books/minutes to determine the exact hearing dates.
  10. Listen to/watch the hearings, if recordings exist (location of legislative tapes).

Contact Information

  • Legislative Reference Library (LRL) (645 State Office Building): (651) 296-3398; email: refdesk@lrl.leg.mn
  • Minnesota Historical Society (MHS) Library (345 W. Kellogg Blvd.): Reference Desk (651) 259-3300

Location of Legislative Tapes

  • 1991 - 1998 Minnesota Historical Society Library
  • 1999 - 2003 Legislative Reference Library
  • 2004 - Present, See Web Streaming Below

House Web Streaming (computers are available in the Legislative Reference Library for listening)

Senate Web Streaming (computers are available in the Legislative Reference Library for listening)

Tape Copies

  • To purchase copies of audio recordings that are stored at the Minnesota Historical Society, contact MHS at (651) 259-3300.
  • To purchase copies of House audio recordings that are stored at the Legislative Reference Library, contact House Public Information, (651) 296-2146. Copies of Senate audio recordings that are stored at the Legislative Reference Library may be purchased from Senate Supply, (651) 296-5720.

Location of Committee Books/Minutes

House Minutes (Prior to 1919 contact the Minnesota Historical Society to determine if they exist.)

  • 1883 - 1918 (Judiciary) Minnesota Historical Society Library
  • 1919 - 1998 Minnesota Historical Society Library
  • 1999 - 2010 Legislative Reference Library
  • 2011 - 2012 Committee Web Pages

House Minutes Online

Senate Minutes (Prior to 1911 contact the Minnesota Historical Society to determine if they exist.)

  • 1883 - 1910 (Judiciary) Minnesota Historical Society Library
  • 1911 - 1998 Minnesota Historical Society Library
  • 1999 - 2010 Legislative Reference Library
  • 2011 - 2012 Committee Web Pages (if the word "Minutes" doesn't appear as a link in the list, contact the committee directly)

Senate Minutes Online

  • 2007 - 2008 Committee Web Pages (if the word "Minutes" doesn't appear as a link in the list, that committee did not post minutes online)
  • 2009 - 2010 Committee Web Pages (if the word "Minutes" doesn't appear as a link in the list, that committee did not post minutes online)
  • 2011 - 2012 Committee Web Pages (if the word "Minutes" doesn't appear as a link in the list, contact the committee directly)

Location of Files/Bills

Location of House Files:

  • Prior to 1957 Contact the Minnesota Historical Society Library
  • 1957 - 2008 Microfilm at Legislative Reference Library
  • 1995 - Present Legislative website, current session bills are also available from the Office of the Chief Clerk (Room 211 Capitol), (651) 296-2314

Location of Senate Files:

  • Prior to 1957 Contact the Minnesota Historical Society Library
  • 1957 - 2010 Microfilm at Legislative Reference Library
  • 1995 - Present Legislative website, current session bills are also available from the Secretary of the Senate (Room 231 Capitol), (651) 296-2344

Private Legislative History Firms

Note: Other legislative history search firms will be added as we learn of their existence. This information is provided as a public service, and does not imply endorsement by the Minnesota Legislature.