Research Guides
The Gallagher Law Library guide on Finding Washington State Laws includes information about sources for historical laws.
The Washington State Legislature's Glossary of Legislative Terms.
Other libraries have guides on Washington legislative history:
Legislative History - Washington State Archives
Legislative History Guide - Public Law Library of King County
Washington Legislative History - Washington State Law Library
Need to research legislative history for a state other than Washington? See State Legislative History Research Guides Inventory - Indiana University Jerome Hall Law Library for links to comparable guides prepared by other law librarians.
Books
Washington Legal Research by Call Number: Reference Area (KFW75 .H45 2009)ISBN: 9781594607189Publication Date: 2009-07-01Consult Chapter 9, Legislative History (pp.151-172)
This chapter covers the process by which the Washington legislature enacts laws, and it explains how to track pending legislation and research legislative history.
Articles
- Legislative History in Washington [HeinOnline]A 36-page article (1984) discussing how Washington courts have used legislative history to interpret statutes.
- Washington Courts' Use of Legislative History in Statutory Interpretation [HeinOnline]A 42-page article (2013-14) giving examples of how some Washington appellate cases have used legislative material to clarify intent.
- State Legislative Histories: A Select, Annotated Bibliography [HeinOnline]This bibliography [1993] is fashioned to provide both the practitioner and the researcher with a quick reference guide to the location of state legislative history source materials.
- A New Approach to Statutory Interpretation in WashingtonA 34-page article (2001) discusses canons of statutory construction and their use by the courts. "Of greatest utility are legislative findings in a preamble section of a bill as the findings represent an affirmative statement of legislative intent enacted by the legislature."