What is a legislative history?

A Nebraska legislative history is a series of documents related to legislative action taken on a legislative bill considered by the Nebraska Unicameral Legislature. Legislative histories are frequently compiled by public officials, researchers and attorneys in order to better understand the intent of legislators in making particular policy decisions.

What types of historical documents are available?

Two kinds of documents are available in the Office of the Clerk of the Legislature on microfilm:

Committee records: These records include the introducer's statement of intent, the public hearing transcript, executive session notes, and the committee statement. The committee hearing transcript contains verbatim testimony and a question/answer period among senators and the public. Other documents include the legislative bill as it was introduced, the committee reports, any adopted amendments and exhibits offered at the public hearing.

Floor debate records: These records include a transcript of the verbatim discussion among senators during a legislative session, together with any references to the bill as it moves through the legislative process.

Requesting a legislative history

You may contact the legislative historian via telephone, e-mail or postal mail to request a legislative history. Contact information is provided below:

Diana Bridges, Legislative Historian
Clerk of the Legislature's Office
State Capitol, Room 2014
P.O. Box 94604
Lincoln, NE 68509
Phone: (402) 471-3215
E-Mail: histories@leg.ne.gov

The size of a request will dictate how long it takes to complete, so please turn in your requests in advance of any deadlines you might have. Most requests can be filled within two to three days.

If you would prefer to search the archived microfilm in person, the microfilm viewer is available to the public in the Clerk's Office (State Capitol, Room 2014) during regular office hours: Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

You may also contact the legislative historian if you have a question regarding your own search for a legislative history, even if you do not need to request a full history from the Clerk's Office.

How much does it cost to prepare a legislative history?

Each page of a legislative history costs 15 cents, plus applicable sales tax. If the legislative history is mailed to you, postage costs will also apply. If you will be using the microfilm copier, you may also make copies from the microfilm viewer for 15 cents per page.

What information do I need in order to request a legislative history?

You will need one of the following pieces of information in order for the legislative historian to process your request:

• the legislative bill number and the year the bill was introduced or passed; OR
• a statutory reference.

Please note that the numbering of legislative bills begins with "LB 1" at the beginning of each new legislative biennium. (Each two-year legislative biennium begins in an odd-numbered year.) Therefore, the year in which the bill was introduced or passed is needed as well as the bill number.

How do I get a legislative bill number?

If your search is from a section of the Nebraska Statutes, consult the statute "source" listed at the end of the section number. The source will identify the bills in which the statute was drafted or amended. Also, be sure to check any supplements that may have been printed since the "Reissue Volume" was issued. The "Index to Bills Passed," found in the back of "Nebraska Session Laws," also identifies amendments to the section that are too new to appear in the supplement.

If your sources refer to a bill introduced prior to 1971, the citation will be referenced as a chapter number, rather than a bill number. To get the legislative bill number, refer to the referenced page and chapter number in the appropriate year of the "Nebraska Session Laws."

If you are compiling a history on an article in the Nebraska Constitution, your source may refer you to a legislative bill or to an initiative. If the constitutional amendment was placed on the ballot by initiative petition - rather than legislative action - there will be no legislative record.

Record availability

Information about bills introduced during the current Legislature -- which consists of the regular and special sessions that take place during a two-year biennium -- is located on the Legislature's web site. Information from previous biennia are stored at the State Capitol in Lincoln. Check the chart below to find out where information about your bill of interest is located.

NOTE: Since bills reach different stages in the legislative process, the documents listed may not be available for all bills. Also, due to different storage processes and technology in earlier biennia, certain types of information may not be available.

What is a gutted bill?

A gutted bill is one that, when introduced, addressed a certain subject matter but whose contents were changed during the legislative process. A bill’s content can be "gutted" entirely and replaced with other provisions, or other provisions can be added to the bill’s original content.

Gutting can make constructing a legislative history difficult. Beginning in 1991, the chronology of bills in the "Legislative Journal" will contain a citation if a bill has had other bills amended into it. Determining whether a bill prior to 1991 was gutted can be difficult; the first sign that a bill was gutted may be that the public hearing testimony (original bill) is not related to the bill as it was passed (gutted bill). However, you may find a reference to the content of the original bill in the floor debate records.