Legislative History Research: Step 2: Journals

The House and Senate Journals record the action of the legislative bodies' floors, as well as information on which committee(s) heard bills and when the House or Senate referred a bill to a committee. They also record reports of conference committees and other actions on the bill. 

• For more recent bills, use the Journals online.  Start with the House Bill Search (1994 to present) or Senate Bill Search (1995 to present).

• For older bills, check in the print House or Senate Journal Index to get a list of the pages that include action or information on your bill.  

You may also want to check for action on your bill in the opposite chamber using the House Index to Senate Bills and the Senate Index to House Bills.  

Once you have the page numbers or have accessed the digital Journal search, you will need to read the Journal entries to determine:

• The committee(s) to which the bill was referred
• Date of referral to committee(s)
• Date of bill's return to the floor from committee(s)
• All floor actions taken on the bill

Gale Family Library
Minnesota Historical Society Library

Located on the Second Floor of the Minnesota History Center
345 West Kellogg Blvd.
St. Paul, MN 55102

Library Hours:
Thursday to Saturday: 10am to 4pm
Sunday to Wednesday: Closed
 

More Information on Visiting the Library

Contact Us:

651-259-3300

Email Us

Visit our Main Website