Ohio and Other States' Legislative History
- See the library’s Ohio Legal Research Guide – Legislative History
- Compared to federal legislative history, there are less helpful documents available.
- Like annotated federal codes, annotated Ohio Revised Codes list the Acts that enacted or modified the code section.
- Some parallels to federal legislative history:
Ohio Legislative History
Legislative Process |
Federal |
Ohio |
Bill introduced |
Bill |
Bill Legislative Service Commission (LSC) Analysis |
Committee holds hearing |
Committee prints (research reports) |
LSC Staff Research Reports |
Committee recommends legislation |
House/Senate report |
LSC Analysis |
Debates and Votes |
Congressional Record-debates House/Senate Journal-votes |
The Ohio Channel - debates House/Senate Journals - votes |
Amended bill sent to conference committee |
Conference Report |
|
Bill becomes law |
Slip Law United States Statutes at Large US Code |
Laws of Ohio (session laws) Ohio Revised Code |
Veto Message |
Congressional Record Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents |
Governor’s Messages |
If the Act was passed 1989 or later, a great place to start is Ohio Capitol Connection . For Acts 1997 and later, the Ohio General Assembly's webpage has many documents accessible.
See resources for Tracking Ohio Bills
Legislative History for Other States
State Legislative History Research Guides on the Web
Bill Tracking web links (via AALL)
For State Session Laws/Copies of Old Statutes:
- Heinonline Session Law Library - Dates of Coverage vary by state. Ohio is 1803-2004, but for some states, coverage starts in the 1990s.
- Hein State Session Laws Microform set - In the basement, starting with drawer OO1. Usually goes back further than the electronic. For catalog records, do a search for title=state session laws and possibly add state interested in.
- LLMC Digital - Session laws for some states, coverage varies. No session laws for Ohio at this time.