Additional Research Materials
There may be secondary sources to help you get a sense of legislative intent.
Session Materials
The Minnesota Senate and House have published summaries of legislation, which may reveal context or intent. Search the LRL Catalog for additional materials published by the legislature.
Reports
Search the LRL Catalog for records or publications of state agencies, political parties, or groups concerned with the legislation.
The minutes may indicate that a bill before the committee was the product of a task force, commission, or work group set up to study the issue. The report might be appended to the minutes or be available at the Legislative Reference Library or the Minnesota Historical Society Library. Librarians at both locations can help you search their collections: LRL Catalog or MHS Catalog.
News
Consult news coverage from the year you are researching.
By topic:
- 2009-present: selected public policy news articles are online in News Archive (Visit LRL for access)
- 1970-2009: selected public policy clippings in print at the Legislative Reference Library
By district or legislator:
- 2009-present: news clippings by legislator or by district online in the News Archive (Visit LRL for access)
- 2000-2009: news clippings by district in print
- 1970-1999: news clippings by district in microfilm (early coverage varies)
The Legislative Reference Library also collects select news clippings in Session Notebooks in the Zona Collection.
More news options are available on the LRL's newspapers page. The Minnesota Historical Society Library retains copies of Minnesota newspapers.
Minnesota Statutes Annotated
The Minnesota Statutes Annotated may include law review articles or case law if the courts have made a ruling related to your statute. Find the Minnesota Statutes Annotated in print in the State Office Building location of the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library.
Related Bills
Omnibus bills are large bills containing many different provisions and are often made up of a number of smaller bills that may have had committee hearings If you're researching an omnibus bill, you may wish to search for other bills that were introduced on this topic during the same session or use the topical index of the print Journals, if you're looking at legislation older than 1995.
Prior-year legislation may also be of interest to you. An issue may have been introduced and had hearings in previous sessions but did not pass. It may be useful to research years prior to the passage of the legislation.
Rules
The rules will give you details on how the statute is being administered. Look at the Minnesota Rules to see if there are any that correspond to the statute you're researching.
Personal papers
Check any personal papers that may have been donated to the Minnesota Historical Society from the individuals and groups involved/interested in the legislation.