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Legislative History

This LibGuide will help users locate documents and conduct legislative history research at North Carolina Central University School of Law's Library.

Illustration of How a Bill becomes a Law

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Image created for the Design for America contest sponsored by Sunlight Labs.

Introduction to Legislative History

Legislators pass laws with specific goals in mind.  Unfortunately, these goals are not always clear - especially when there has been no judicial interpretation of the law.  This is why legislative history research is conducted.  Researchers pull together all of the documents created in the passing of a law and strive to ascertain what the purpose of the law is and how it should be interpreted and applied.