How to Compile a Connecticut Legislative History

Using the Connecticut General Assembly’s Website

NOTE: The Connecticut State Library has begun posting previously compiled legislative histories online, so it is a good idea to check their database first to see if a compiled version is already available.

1. Find the Bill Number with "Quick Bill Search"

Use the drop-down menu to select Public Act.

Enter the public act number and use the pull-down menu to choose the year.

Click on the blue Go button.

2. Find the Bill History and Status

Scroll down the page to the bill history.

Make a note of the following information:

• Bill number, e.g. SB-235

• Committee name

• Date of the public hearing

• Dates of passage by the House and Senate

Explanation: The dates of passage by the House and Senate are needed to find the transcripts of debate on the floor of the House and Senate. You will see below how to use the dates for your search. The committee name and public hearing date is used to locate the public hearing transcripts and testimony. A public hearing transcript is "written word-for-word records of the proceedings of a committee's public hearing." Public hearing testimony is “written testimony submitted to the committee for public hearing.”

3. Find the Public Hearing Testimony

Scroll to the bottom of the Bill Information page and Click on Public Hearing Testimony, where you will see a list of written testimony filed regarding the bill.

4. Find the Transcripts of House and Senate Debates

Go to the Connecticut General Assembly's Advanced Search Page at https://search.cga.state.ct.us/r/adv/

• Select Session Transcripts by clicking the checkbox.

• In the Text search box, choose "contains the phrase."

  • Enter the date of passage for the House or Senate.

• In the Year search box, select the year.

• Click the search button.

In your results list, click on the transcript that you are looking for (in this example, the date of passage for the Senate was searched). Once you are in the transcript, you can use CTRL-F and the bill number to locate references to the bill in question.

5. Find Public Hearing Transcripts

To find public hearing transcripts, follow the instructions for House and Senate transcripts (section 3), but choose the Public Hearings Transcripts database.

Note: An alternative method for finding public hearing transcripts and testimony is to visit the committee's web page. Not every committee makes the written testimony available on its website and coverage varies.

6. How to Cite Connecticut Legislative Histories

House Debate:	38 H. R. Proc., Pt. 9, 1995 Sess., p. _____.
Senate Debate	38 S. Proc., Pt. 10, 1995 Sess., p.  ____ .
Public Hearings	Conn. Joint Standing Committee Hearings, Judiciary, Pt. 7, 1995 Sess., p. ___.

More information about citing Connecticut legislative histories is provided by the Connecticut State Library.

Caution

It is best to use the paper transcripts available at the Connecticut State Library or the microfiche edition available at the Judicial Branch Law Libraries. Not only are these transcripts carefully edited by the state library staff and contain the official pagination, but they also contain any written testimony submitted at the public hearings.

10/1/2015 revision

Contact LawLibrarians@jud.ct.gov with any questions.