When was this particular phrase added to the criminal code, and why? Why did the Legislature remove this word from statute, only to reinstate it the next year? When was the first time the Legislature introduced a bill to legalize sports betting, and what happened that year?
The Legislative Reference Library regularly receives these kinds of questions, and legislative history research can help answer them. But this research process can be time consuming and complex.
Last January, the Office of the Revisor of Statutes hosted a CLE that was presented by reference librarians from the Legislative Reference Library on this topic, breaking down the process with real-life examples, and outlining how research methods and tools vary across years.
If you missed the presentation, or are interested in learning more about conducting this kind of research, you can view an archived version of the CLE presentation and access handouts from the presentation.
A few highlights of the Legislative History Research CLE include:
Photo: This image from the 1980s, included in our photo collection, was scanned from the files of the Minnesota Senate Photographer with the generous help of the Minnesota Digital Library.