Government Information Research Guide
Topics
Massachusetts Legislative Histories

 | Introduction | | Legislative Process | | Identifying Legislation | | Bills | | Laws | | Other Sources |

Introduction

Legislative histories are important because they allow citizens and researchers to trace the development of a bill from its introduction in the House or Senate to its arrival on the Governor's desk. All documents relating to passage of the law are part of the legislative history. Use legislative history to determine legislative intent, to identify issues that affect passage, and to provide background information.

The legislative process in Massachusetts does not provide a lot of documentation for developing a thorough legislative history. The following resources describe what is available at the University of Massachusetts Amherst's W.E.B. Du Bois Library, at the State House Library in Boston, and on the Internet.

Understanding the Massachusetts Legislative Process

Law Making in Massachusetts.
(Massachusetts General Court).
Excellent description of the legislative process in Massachusetts.

Massachusetts Legislative History.
(State Library of Massachusetts).
Thorough guide to the legislative process and compiling a legislative history.

Identifying Legislation by Bill Number or Law Number

Bills
All legislation introduced in the House or Senate is assigned a bill number.
Examples:
H 5712 (House Bill number)
S 821 (Senate Bill number)

Session Laws:
A bill passed into law during annual legislative sessions is called an Act and becomes part of the Session Laws. Each Session Law is assigned a Chapter number.
Examples:
House Bill H 5172 passed into law during the 2000 legislative session becomes Chapter 89 of the Acts of 2000.
Senate Bill S 821 passed into law during the 1997 legislative session becomes Chapter 208 of the Acts of 1997.

Acts and Resolves of Massachusetts (UM/KFM 2425.A25)
Annual compilation of the Session Laws, and cited as Statutes.
Examples:
St. 2000, c. 89
St. 1997, c. 208

Massachusetts General Laws (MGL) (UM/KFM 2430 [yr.] A24)
Statutes are compiled into the appropriate parts of the MGL.
Examples of citations:
MGL c.292; or 292 M.G.L. 2A

If the researcher has an MGL chapter and section number, and wants to create a legislative history, use the MGLA (Massachusetts General Laws Annotated) (UM/Ref. KFM2430 1958 W4). Look in the Historical Notes section following the law for Session Law citations to the original law and subsequent amendments.

Bills

Massachusetts legislative bills available in the W.E.B. Du Bois Library:
Bills (online) - 2005-2006
Bills (paper) - 1995-1999 (Government Documents Office)
Bills (microfilm) - 1967-1995 (UM/Microfilm Storage D 267)

Locating a bill number:

Online:
General Court of Massachusetts: current legislation
Legislative Tracking System

Paper:
Guide to Massachusetts General and Special Acts
(UM/KFM 2440.G9).
(Library has holdings from 1972-1999).

Journal of the House (UM/J 87.M4c)

Journal of the Senate (UM/J 87.M4b)

Compiling a legislative history from a bill number using online sources:
1. Go to the General Court Web site
2. Select "Search Bill Histories"
3. Enter the House or Senate bill number
The entry provides the bill number, an abstract, and all action taken on the bill.

Compiling a legislative history from a bill number using paper sources:
1. Take the bill number to the Bill Number Index in the Journal of the House (UM/J 87.M4c) or the Journal of the Senate (UM/J 87.M4b).
2. Each bill history includes the bill number, the dates and action taken on a bill, the committee that receives the bill, and the Chapter number the bill receives if it is passed into law.
3. A statement reads "no further action taken" if the bill dies in committee, or does not make it through both chambers. Remember, most bills do not become laws.

Laws

Online:
Session laws - 1997-present (http://www.state.ma.us/legis/)

General laws of Massachusetts

Paper:
Acts and Resolves of Massachusetts
(UM/KFM 2425 A25)
Also referred to as Session Laws. Includes the Chapter number, the wording of the Act as it was passed into law, and the day it was enacted. Does not include the original bill number.

Massachusetts General Laws Annotated
(UM/KFM 2430 1958 W4)

Locating a law number:

Online:
General Laws of Massachusetts

Session Laws [1997-present].

Paper:
Acts and Resolves of Massachusetts
(UM/KFM 2425.A25)

Guide to Massachusetts General and Special Acts (UM/KFM 2440.G9).
(Library has holdings from 1972-1999).

Journal of the House (UM/J 87.M4c)
See "List of Chapters of the Acts for the [year] Session."
Chapter numbers appear at the end of Bill Histories for bills signed into law.

Journal of the Senate (UM/J 87.M4b)
See "List of Chapters of the Acts for the [year] Session."
Chapter numbers appear at the end of Bill Histories for bills signed into law.

Massachusetts General Laws Annotated
(UM/KFM 2430 1958 W4)

Shepard's Acts and Cases by Popular Names: Federal and State
(Ref Desk KF 90.S5)
Locate federal and state statute and law numbers by popular name or title.

Compiling a legislative history from a law number using online sources:
1. Go to General Court Web site
2. Select "General Laws" for the compilation of all Massachusetts general laws.
3. Select "Session Laws" for the Acts passed during a particular year.

Search both General Laws and Session Laws by individual law number, keyword, or phrase.

Compiling a legislative history from a law number using paper sources:
1. If you have a General Law number, go to the Massachusetts General Laws Annotated (UM/KFM 2430 1958 W4) and locate the law. At the end of the law, a citation to the Statute chapter number appears.
2. Take the Statute number to the Guide to Massachusetts General and Special Acts (UM/KFM 2440.G9), or the Journal of the House (UM/J 87.M4c), or Journal of the Senate (UM/J 87.M4b).
3. Match the Statute number to the Session Law number and abstract, which will provide you with the bill number.
4. Take the bill number to the "Bill Histories" section of the Journal of the House (UM/J 87.M4c) or the Journal of the Senate (UM/J 87.M4c) where you will find brief legislative histories by bill number.

Proceedings of the House and Senate.
Transcribed proceedings of debate and action on the floor of the House and Senate do not exist. The Journal of the House (UM/J 87.M4c) and the Journal of the Senate (UM/J 87.M4c) provide only a general daily listing of procedural actions that occur during legislative sessions.

Audiotapes exist for House debates from 1984 to 1987 and videotapes exist from 1988 to the present.
View videotapes of the House debates at the State Library.

Since 1989, the Senate videotapes its debates. The Senate Clerk's office houses videotapes of Senate debates, and viewing them requires the Clerk's permission.

To best prepare before contacting either the State Library, the State Archives, or the Senate Clerk about public hearings, closed committee sessions, or floor debate transcripts, determine specifically what information it is you need. No subject or name indexing to these sources exists.

Committee Hearings:
Recordings and transcriptions of public hearings before 1992 do not exist.
Videotape coverage after 1992 is selective; access is through the State Library.
Legislative packages of some bills in which notes of committee hearing testimony may have been taken are housed in the State Archives.

Other Sources on Massachusetts Legislative History and Intent

Online:

InstaTrac  (InstTrac, Inc.)
Accessible only with Internet Explorer 4.0 of higher.
Requires username: public 
                password: umamherst
Contains a large amount of information about the legislative process in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Among other things, it provides bill tracking, the full text of bills back to 2005, the transcripts of hearing, a legislative calendar, and contact information for state representatives and legislators.  Available on campus, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an OIT account; enter your OIT login: and password when prompted.

Research Guide to Massachusetts Legislative History: Resources and Research Steps.
(New England School of Law) 
Summary information on the legislative process, legislative history resources, researching legislative histories, and resources at the State Library of Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Archives.

Tracing the Legislative History of a Massachusetts Statute [pt.1.10, Massachusetts Legislative History] (State Library of Massachusetts)
Describes the basic steps in the Massachusetts legislative process. Identifies resources and their content essential to developing legislative history.

Paper:
Bulletin of Committee Work.
(Massachusetts General Court)
(UM/Mass. Docs. MASS. GC 1.7: ) (Holdings: 1982-1997)
Arranged by legislative committee, lists all bills assigned to a committee by session, actions taken, date of action, and recommendation of the committee.

Guide to Massachusetts Legislative and Government Research.
(Legislative Research Bureau)
( JK 3131 1981)
Basic guide to Massachusetts government, lawmaking in Massachusetts, research methods and resources in Massachusetts state government, and guide to legislative services.

Report Relative to Determination of Legislative Intent
(Massachusetts Legislative Research Council, 1982)
(UM/Mass. Doc. MASS. GC 2.2:R 29/982/H.5882).
Describes policies and practices of Massachusetts and other states in establishing and determining legislative intent.