Legislation Research

California Legislation

Website: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/home.xhtml 

Having the specific Bill Number will definitely help navigate the multiple search results in a keyword search of the CA Legislation website.  Try a Google Search about a specific California Bill or Law to find a potential Bill Number.  **Pay attention to the year of the bill or law in your Google Search.  

Example: 

I do not know the name or bill number for the CA Law on jaywalking.  So I Googled:  jaywalking law bill California. 
Within the search results, I was able to find that a recent article (Oct 2022) which explains "The Freedom to Walk Act" aka "AB 2147"

On the CA Legislation website, I typed: AB 2147. 

Key  Pieces of Information of Each CA Bill:  

• TEXT - The official adopted language of the bill/law.

• HISTORY - Will tell you when the bill was introduced, other key events in the timeline of the bill.  "Chaptered" means the bill has passed.  "In Committee" means it's still being discussed.  "Failed Passage" means it's a dead bill.  

• BILL ANALYSIS - Documentation on the analysis done by the Senate, Assembly, or other departments.  ***Many times, these documents include information on fiscal impacts and other considerations/discussion points.*** 

• TODAY'S LAWS AS AMENDED - provides the edit history made to the original bill.  Red font with strikethrough is original language that is no longer applicable.  Blue font is additions made after the original bill was introduced. 

• STATUS - See where the Bill is at in the process to becoming law.  You can confirm whether the bill "died" in this status tab. 

MLA Works Cited Citation Example for California Bill (AB 2147):

California State, Legislature. Assembly Bill 2147. California State Legislature, 20 October 2022,

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB2147

In-Text MLA Source Citation Example for multiple California Bills in your Works Cited:
(The first word(s) before the coma, AND the next words that differentiate the CA bills)

(California State, Assembly Bill 2147)

Federal Legislation

Website: https://www.congress.gov/ 

Just like the California legislature website above, having the specific Bill Number will definitely help navigate the multiple search results in a keyword search.  Try a Google Search about a specific federal Bill or Law to find a potential Bill Number for the United States. 

Key  Pieces of Information of Each Federal Bill:  

• "Tracker" in the Overview - Gives you an idea of where the bill is in it's lifespan. 

• TEXT - The official adopted language of the bill/law.

• ACTIONS - Similar to "History" in CA - Will tell you when the bill was introduced, other key events in the timeline of the bill.  "Chaptered" means the bill has passed.  "In Committee" means it's still being discussed.  "Failed Passage" means it's a dead bill.  

• COMMITTEES - Similar to "bill analysis" in CA - Documentation on the analysis done by the committees.  Many times, these documents include information on fiscal impacts, findings, and other considerations/discussion points.*** 

• RELATED BILLS - this may offer more legislation that can aid your research.

MLA Source Citation Example for Federal Bill (HR 1808):

United States, Congress, House.  Assault Weapons Ban of 2022. Congress.gov, 

https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1808.  117th Congress.  Passed in House 6 December 2016.

In-Text MLA Source Citation Example for multiple Federal Bills in your Works Cited:
(The first word(s) before the coma, the next word that differentiate the federal bills)

(United States, Assault)