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New York State Legislative History

A legislative history is compiled as a method to determine the intent of the legislative body enacting the law.

Steps to Compile a New York State Legislative History

  1. Look for the history of the code section at the end of the section in either McKinney's Consolidated Laws of New York (McKinney's) or in the Consolidated Law Service (CLS).

  2. Check the annotations in either of these sets for amendments with session law citations, references to:  Assembly, Senate or Law Revision Commission reports; or Senate documents; or, Public Hearings; or any other relevant publication or article.

  3. Look for the Governor's or Legislative memoranda in the Legislate Annual or McKinney's Session Laws.  These documents are arranged by session law citation, i.e. year enacted and chapter number.

  4. See a Reference Librarian for assistance locating Bill and Vento Jackets in the Law Library.  Bill Jackets may be found by session law citation.  Veto Jackets are identified by veto number referenced in the Legislative Digest.

  5. Identify Legislative committees by determining bill numbers from the Legislative Digest.

  6. Search the our online catalog for Law Revision Commission reports.  The history of the code section (Step 1) should mention the report if one exists.  Our online catalog determines if the Law Library holds the report in our collection.

Points to Remember about New York Legislative History

  1. Most bills introduced in either the Assembly or the Senate are not enacted.

  2. The same bill may be introduced into both the Assembly and the Senate.  These bills will have both an Assembly and a Senate number.

  3. Multiple bills on the same or similar issue(s) may be introduced.  Each bill will have its own number.

  4. Each legislature begins anew.  A bill that was not passed in the previous legislative session must be re-introduced in the current legislative session.

  5. Sponsor(s) of a bill are required to prepare a memoranda for the bill. 

  6. The Governor may not prepare a memoranda for the bill.

  7. Public hearings may not be held on a bill.

  8. A bill may have some documentation materials and not others.

  9. Existing documents may not be included in the bill jacket.

  10. Documents located and retrieved may not answer your intent question.

  11. Compiling a legislative history in New York can be an exercise in frustration.