Research Legislative History

To research the history of legislation you may need to access records created by the House, Senate, Legislative Research and General Counsel (who conduct legal and policy research for drafting bills), Legislative Fiscal Analyst (who reviews bills for cost implications), Governors and Lieutenant Governors, among others. Another research guide entitled Legislative Intent and Legislative History provides more information on how to use these records.

The following are some of the series most commonly used records on legislation. Most current records are still in the creating office, and some may be available online at le.utah.gov.

Code and Laws

Legislature    
Laws of Utah, 1851-[ongoing]. le.utah.gov
View Online
Series 83155
Utah Code Annotated, 1851-[ongoing] le.utah.gov Series 83238
Utah Code Unannotated, 1982-2022.   Series 1052

See also:

Legislative Minutes

Legislative Assembly
Journals, 1851-1880.   Series 3145
Legislative Assembly. House
Journal record books, 1858-1878. View Online Series 16660
Legislative Council
Journal record books, 1858-1882. View Online Series 3167
House
Journals, 1882- View Online
le.utah.gov
Series 456
Floor debate recordings, 1957-[ongoing] le.utah.gov Series 23020
Senate
Journals, 1882- View Online
le.utah.gov
Series 409
Floor debate recordings, 1965-[ongoing] le.utah.gov Series 22515

Legislative Bill Files

Legislative Assembly
Territorial legislative records, 1851-1894.   Series 3150
House
Working bills, 1896-[ongoing] View Online
le.utah.gov
Series 432
Senate
Working bills, 1896-[ongoing] View Online
le.utah.gov
Series 428
Lieutenant Governor
Legislative bills, 1896-[ongoing]   Series 4076
Legislative Research and General Counsel
Bill drafting and research records, 1980-[ongoing] Series 7073

Committee Records

Legislative Research and General Counsel
Interim committee histories, 1967-[ongoing] Index Series 7230
House
Standing committee minutes, 1967-[ongoing] le.utah.gov Series 3159
Standing committee audio recordings, 1994-[ongoing] le.utah.gov Series 23013
Senate
Standing committee minutes, 1972-[ongoing] le.utah.gov Series 18459
Standing committee audio recordings, 1994-[ongoing] le.utah.gov Series 21084

Publications

Legislative Research and General Counsel
Legislative Interim Reports, 1948-[ongoing] le.utah.gov Series 22117
Digest of Legislation reports, 1949-[ongoing] le.utah.gov Series 17929
Research reports, 1976-[ongoing]   Series 24138

Governors' Records

Governor Bamberger
Legislative bills record, 1917-1919. Series 12365
Governor Rampton
Legislative bill records, 1965-1976. Series 17586
Governor Matheson
Legislative bill files, 1977-1984. Series 1595
Governor Bangerter
Legislative case files, 1985-1992. Series 8583

Constitutional Records

Constitutional Convention (1895)
Records, 1895 View Online Series 3212
State Constitution, 1895 View Online Series 3214
Election Office
Voter Information Pamphlets, 1975-[ongoing]   Series 21810

See Legislative Offices and Libraries for additional resources available at other locations.

Page Last Updated May 10, 2023.