Pennsylvania Legislative History: PA Laws Passed Since 1993

Researchers can create legislative histories for Pennsylvania laws passed since 1993 using the Pennsylvania General Assembly's Web site. Instructions for creating legislative histories for Pennsylvania laws passed before 1993 are provided here.

The Pennsylvania General Assembly's Web site posts various types of information that can be used in assembling legislative histories:

• Amended versions of bills (since 1969)
• Pennsylvania House Journal (since 1975)
• Pennsylvania Senate Journal (since 1993)
• Appropriations Committee Fiscal Notes (since 2010)
  

For information about locating Pennsylvania statutes and Pennsylvania statutory research in general, see:

• Step 1: Locate statute in Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes or Pennsylvania Statutes.

• Step 2: Locate the statutory history at the end of the statute.

• Step 3: Note the year and the act number for the relevant law. Example: For 18 Pa.C.S. 6317, the year is 1997 and the act number is 26.

• Step 4: Go to the Pennsylvania General Assembly’s Web site at http://www.legis.state.pa.us/

• Step 5: Select the “Legislation” tab at the top of the page.

• Step 6: Select the 'Search' button in the 'By Legislation Enacted' box.

• Step 7: Enter year and act number.

• Step 8: Select relevant bill. Note the bill number as references to the bill in the legislative journals will be by bill number.

• Step 9: Review fiscal note (if applicable).

• Step 10: From the “Text – History – Votes” menu, select “History.”

• Step 11: Review history to determine if there are any links to legislative journals.

• Step 12: If applicable, review the legislative journal entries for the bill.