legislative history
Legislative history is the documented record of how a piece of legislation came to be passed and the legislative intent behind the particular statute. A legislative history is typically composed of records produced while the statute was still a bill, such as committee reports, conference reports, deliberation history, and potentially secondary sources associated with the bill.
Committee and conference reports are documents that are produced during the committee and conference proceedings, respectively. The reports outline the purpose of a given bill, its history, and why the bill is worded how it is. Not every bill makes it to a conference, so committee reports are often more valuable.
The deliberation history of a bill may entail a few different records, such as what was said while debating the bill, changes in the text of the bill over time, versions of the bill used in committee, and transcripts of hearings on the bill.
If not enough information is available from the primary sources on the bill, then secondary sources may be used to give insight into the process. These sources may include press coverage from the time that contextualizes the bill.
See also: statutory construction, the Library of Congress resource Compiling a Federal Legislative History: A Beginner’s Guide, and the CRS guide Federal Legislative History: A Research Guide for Congressional Staff.
[Last reviewed in March of 2026 by the Wex Definitions Team]
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