QUEST: Searching for Legislation

Tips for SEARCHING for Government Policies and Legislation for QUEST 

(handout #1 of 2)

McAuley's Slides from Source Check 3 Library Lesson

Method 1: Using Keywords on Google:

“Legislation”is usually the most effective keyword to find bills and laws, so if your issue is homelessness for example, start your search this way:

Homelessness legislation

Keep in mind you can be more specific:

Homelessness legislation California

Homelessness legislation 2019

Homeless youth legislation

Other potential keywords: bills, laws, policies, government response, federal funding, etc.

Google’s Site Operator:

To find federal and state bills and laws (bills = proposed laws that haven't passed yet), use Google's site operator to search for only .gov sources. 

The formula is keyword(s) legislation site:.gov WITH NO SPACES AFTER THE WORD SITE!

Examples:

immigration legislation site:.gov

Alzheimer’s disease funding legislation site:.gov

bullying in schools policies site:.ca.gov  *Note that you can search for California legislation specifically

diabetes bills 2018 site:.gov

Etc…

Note the difference between a regular search without keywords and site operator (we are not finding any actual laws here):

...and a search with keywords and site operator (we are finding tons of laws and bills):

Method 2:

Go directly to the website of Congress: https://www.congress.gov/

Or the California State Legislature: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/

...and use their search functions to search for keywords within the website. Pay attention to the ways in which the site lets you limit your search, especially date (try like the last 5 years).

Tips:

• In Congress.gov: In the first "Limit Your Search" box on the left, Uncheck All then check "Legislation." Then below that, where it says Congress, click "Show More" and then choose appropriate sessions of Congress according to your teacher's preferences. You can also use "Bill Type" to get rid of resolutions and focus on bills.

• In the CA Legislature site: Under "Bill Number" put in keywords, not under "Code Number"

Think about what type of government response it makes sense for you to find:

What entity is in charge of making policy about your issue? 

What type of government response makes sense for your topic? Federal legislation? State legislation? Local school board policy? State education policy? etc. Some matters are decided mostly at the federal level (ex: human trafficking, funding for disease research, healthcare policy) while other matters vary greatly according to state (education, abortion rights, transportation funding etc.). 

Sometimes states, counties, or cities make policies to help them carry out things that federal laws asked them to do.

If you find state legislation, can you do a comparison between states? Which states would make a meaningful comparison (ex: immigration laws from a border versus non-border state; comparing two states that have strict and lenient gun control laws)? Is there no existing federal legislation on the topic (or are you just not finding it)? If none exists, why not? 

*If you get stuck, ask your government teacher and/or your QUEST Expert what entity is in charge of regulating/making policy about your issue, and if there are any major pieces of legislation in the field of which you should be aware.*