legislative history is a compilation of documents which were produced
during the process of a bill becoming a law. Insofar as legislative
history reveals legislative intent, it may aid courts and agencies in
determining questions of statutory construction.
process of a bill becoming a public law, Congress produces an extensive
collection of documents that comprise the legislative history of the law.
The most important of these documents include:
- variations in the text of the bill between introduction and passage;
- hearings by Congressional committees;
- reports of Congressional committees;
- debates on the floor of Congress;
- Presidential messages upon approval or veto.
Descriptions of each of these items, their relative weights, and the
tools used in compiling them can be found in standard texts on legal
research, such as Morris L. Cohen, How to Find the Law (9th ed.,
North Carolina, the legislative history of a statute may be a factor in
determining legislative intent. See Milk Com'n v. Food Stores, 270
N.C. 323, 332 (1967)(intent "must be found from the language of the act,
its legislative history and the circumstances surrounding its adoption . .
. ."); Ingram v. Johnson, 260 N.C. 697, 699 (1963) ("[I]t is proper to
look to legislative history, judicial interpretation of prior statutes
dealing with the question, and the changes, if any, made following a
The questions of when a court in North Carolina may resort to analysis
of legislative history and what other factors it may consider in
determining legislative intent may be gathered from North Carolina case
law. Cases relevant to these topics are collected in Strong's North
Carolina Index 4th, Statutes secs. 24-41 (1994) and West's
North Carolina Digest 2d,Statutes secs. 174-234 (1991).
The chief items comprising the legislative history of a North Carolina
- recommended changes in law by study committees, commissions or
- text of the bill at various stages of the legislative process; and
- legislative standing committee minutes.
As this list demonstrates, prominent documents of federal legislative
history -- hearings, floor debates and Congressional reports -- find no
counterpart in North Carolina legislative history. Additionally, the
federal category of "executive messages upon approval or veto" has not
been relevant to legislative history in North Carolina due to the lack of
veto power in its Governor prior to 1997.
Description:The reports of committees and commissions
authorized to study potential subjects of legislation are an integral
part of legislative histories in North Carolina. Studies may contain
recommendations for changes to the law as well as draft bills that would
implement the recommendations. The minutes of study committee meetings
may offer further insight into committee proposals.
Studies may be conducted for the Legislature through the Legislative
Research Commission, the General Statutes Commission or other ongoing
commission, or may be carried out by bodies established to make a
one-time investigation of a matter of public policy. Studies may also be
conducted for the executive or judicial branches of government by
extra-legislative bodies such as the Governor's North Carolina
Commission on Business Laws & the Economy and the Chief
Justice's Commission for the Future of Justice and the Courts in North
The Governor may recommend changes in law in the State of the State
address or other addresses to the Legislature.
How to Find:Reports of study committees and commissions may be
accessed by author (e.g., name of commission) or subject heading
in law library catalogs. The use of more general subject terms
(e.g., taxation) is the safest method of searching for reports,
since catalogs may not reflect specific recommendations of a committee
(e.g., reform of excise tax on soft drinks).
Legislative requests to undertake studies may be
confirmed by review of indexes to the North Carolina Session Laws. Also,
the Legislative Services Office of the North Carolina General Assembly
publishes two items useful in confirming the authorization to undertake
studies: (1) Legislative Research Commission Activities; and (2) Legislative
Commissions and Non-Standing Committees Interim Studies. The
General Statutes Commission issues a biennial report which summarizes its
recommendations and the work of its various legislative drafting committees.
Reports, Legislative Research Commission
Minutes, Legislative Research Commission
Memoranda, General Statutes Commission
Minutes, General Statutes Commission
Reports, Legislative Study Committees and Commissions
Minutes, Legislative Study Committees and Commissions
Reports, Extra-Legislative Committees and Commissions
Gubernatorial Addresses and Public Papers Series
In John R. Sexton & Co. v. Justus, 342 N.C. 374 (1996), the North Carolina Supreme Court cited the 1991 North Carolina Session Laws to establish that an amendment clarified existing law, rather than imposed a new substantive requirement. The language of the quoted special provision in the session law, directing the Secretary of Revenue to review registrations of bottled soft drinks and juice concentrates, had appeared earlier in a report on the revenue laws to the General Assembly.
Pages from this report by the Revenue Laws Study Committee, Legislative Research Commission, entitled Revenue Laws, Report to the 1991 General Assembly of North Carolina 1991 Session, may be viewed by selecting links from the list below.
100: Draft Bill (first page)
114: Draft Bill (directing review of registrations)
116: Explanation of Proposed Amendment (first page)
Minutes of the December 10, 1990 meeting of the Revenue Laws Study
Committee which developed this report are also available for review.
9 (discussion of excise tax on soft drinks)
10 (discussion of excise tax on soft drinks)
References by the Courts:
Pre-Introduction Reports (see p. 21 of this article)
Governors (see pp. 22-23 of this article)