Institute of Government Introduces Free Online Legislative History Service

Posted on March 27, 2006

As part of its Legislative Reporting Service, UNC’s Institute of Government is offering a new feature: online digests of bills filed in the N.C. General Assembly.

This service previously was available only to legislators and their staffs.

For each bill, a single document provides a digest of the original bill and a summary of each subsequent change, including amendments, committee substitutes, conference reports and enactment.

For more than 60 years, the Institute of Government’s Legislative Reporting Service has informed local governments, agencies and citizens in the state about the status and content of state legislation.

The centerpiece of the institute’s subscription-based Legislative Reporting Service since 1935 has been the Daily Bulletin, published at the end of each day the Legislature is in session. The Daily Bulletin contains a summary of every bill introduced and every amendment, committee substitute and conference report adopted. It also records the daily action taken on the floor of the House and Senate with respect to each bill.

The new online service offers summaries of each version of every bill introduced in the General Assembly for the years 1987 through 2002. By subscribing to the Daily Bulletin, clients gain access from 1987 through the current session.

Access to the digests of these bills provides insight into context and background, as well as evidence of legislative intent, allowing researchers to trace the evolution of a bill from proposal to law. Libraries, attorneys, judges and law clerks, law schools, lobbyists and others may find the Daily Bulletin and its associated programs useful in saving time and effort in legislative research, institute officials said.

The Legislative Reporting Service’s Daily Bulletin and an annual summary of legislation are available by subscription to the public and to government entities. For subscription service, vist Daily Bulletin, e-mail the School of Government’s publications office or call (919) 966-4119.

The Institute of Government is a component of UNC’s School of Government.

---