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A legislative history consists of all the documents related to the creation of a statute. Legislative histories are useful in determining the Legislature's intent, meaning and effect of new statues, or when there is little case law interpreting a statue's meaning. This guide describes the steps used in researching a California statue's legislative history.
Please note that the California legislature is not required to publish hearings, debates, or reports. This makes it much more difficult to produce in-depth California Legislative histories than it is for Federal Legislative histories.
The two most valuable resources for those conducting legislative history research in California are Legislative Committee Bill Files and Governor's Chaptered Bill Files. Both of these are available through the California State Archives. They are not available electronically and the Law Library does not have any physical copies.
Legislative Committee Bill Files may contain analyses prepared by committee staff, the Legislative Analyst, and state agencies; written testimony; Legislative Counsel's opinions; letters in support and opposition; the text of the bill and amendments; press releases and newspaper clippings; background information; and, occasionally audio tapes of hearings. These are available for most bills beginning in 1960.
The Governor's Office maintains files for each legislative bill signed into law (chaptered) or vetoed. These files typically contain analyses prepared by the Legislative Counsel, Attorney General, other constitutional officers, state agencies, and the Governor's staff. Also available is correspondence from the bill's author, as well as affected organizations and individuals. Vetoed bill files include the text of the Governor's veto message. They cover 1943 through 2018.
The State Archives have additional resources that can help you with determining the legislature's intent. You can find specifics and dates covered here.