Frequently Asked Questions
Are legislative histories available for the current year?
The Governor’s office releases his Bill Jackets about a year after signing, so they are not immediately available. We start collecting material on important legislation even before a bill passes, so we can often provide a legislative history for new Chapter Laws.
How is the Legislative Service different from other document retrieval services or online databases?
There are two MAJOR differences:
1) The Legislative Service employs people with years of experience researching nothing but legislative intent. We understand the whole process and have the specialized library, which allows us to go back to 1777 if necessary. There is no other place to call where such people are available to help you.
2) We compile the most comprehensive legislative histories possible, drawing on all of our resources and experience. A document retrieval service- online, or at some library, can only give you what you ask for. How can you ask for something that you don't know exists?
What is the turnaround time for requests?
Almost all requests are filled on the day that you call, and we can email the documents to you as PDF (Adobe Acrobat) files for a small fee.
Can we get an estimate of the cost?
Yes, of course. We have standardized fees, and the real variables are the number of documents needed, and the copying charge, since every job is a different size. On average the cost of a history is $150 per Chapter Law. Call us with your details to get an estimate.
Who uses this service?
Almost all major law firms have a membership with us, as well as numerous corporations, banks, law schools, and court libraries. Also, smaller firms, and individual attorneys call upon us.
Why don't you have legislative histories available online?
One reason would be cost. There are approximately 70,000 histories involving several million pages. But that would be only for the Governor's Bill Jackets. We research each request and add as much extra material as possible; every request that we fulfill is a customized research job. It is absolutely necessary to be thorough and give you a complete, on-point legislative history. To make histories available for on-line purchase would be eliminating a valuable part of our service- the collective experience of human research specialists.
Is there one history for each section of the statutes?
No. Every time a new Chapter Law is passed, it has its own history. One section of the statutes may be amended many times by various Chapter Laws. Each amendment has its own history. Of course, not every amendment may be relevant to your case. That is why it helps us to know if there is a particular paragraph or paragraphs relevant to your case in the section of the statutes. This allows us to weed out unnecessary documents from your order, AND REDUCE YOUR COST.
There are a lot of Chapter Laws listed in the historical notes of the section I’m looking at in the statutes. Do I need to get the history for every one?
NO! Needing the history for each Chapter Law listed would be highly unlikely, especially if you are only concerned with a paragraph or two of the section. We have the ability to determine what part(s) of the section each Chapter affected, and after getting your particulars, we eliminate any irrelevant Chapter histories from your project. Some people erroneously assume that the first Chapter listed would cover all paragraphs of the section, but that is probably not true.
Are legislative histories indexed?
No. A legislative history is not the same thing as a treatise. It is essentially a collection of individual documents, letters and reports. It is virtually impossible to index properly.
How do you cite a Governor’s Bill Jacket?
There are actually 3 accepted citation forms:
1) the Uniform System of Citation (aka the "bluebook" or "Harvard Bluebook")
2) the Official New York Law Reports Style Manual (aka the "Tan book" by the Law Reporting Bureau of the State of New York)
3) the ALWD Citation Manual: A Professional System of Citation, by the Association of Legal Writing Directors
How do you cite an NYLS legislative history?
We have asked for an opinion on this from the editors of the citation manual, but have not received an answer at this time. Since our histories are similar in nature to a Governor’s Bill Jacket, and often incorporate the Governor's Bill Jacket, we believe that you could use the same form. Otherwise, since we label each page that we add, you could cite those letters or reports as individual documents.
Can you provide Federal legislative histories?
No, but you can call either of our good friends at:
New York Law Institute (212) 732-8720, or
New York County Lawyer’s Association (212) 267-6646 x201, x204
