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BACKGROUND AND DEFINITIONS FOR U.S. LEGISLATION
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Prepared by Karen Kimber, Social Sciences and Humanities Team Leader
Paul Laurence Dunbar University, Wright State University

See also related guides:

Notes on Bills and Resolutions

The following measures may be introduced and may become law:

Title Abbreviation Definition
Senate bill S. Proposed law introduced in the indicated chamber
House bill H.R.
Senate joint resolution S.J.Res. Proposed law introduced in the indicated chamber, usually on a limited matter. Follows the same process as a bill and has the force of law.
House joint resolution H.J.Res.

You may also come across these measures, which are not signed by the President and do not have the force of law:

Senate resolution S.Res. Measure voted on by the indicated chamber. Concerns internal rules of that chamber or expresses an opinion.
House resolution H.Res.
Senate concurrent resolution S.Con.Res. Measure concerning internal operations of both chambers
House concurrent resolution H.Con.Res.

Each type is numbered consecutively throughout a Congress. A bill or resolution is cited using the abbreviation above, the number of the Congress (see numbering of Congresses), followed by the number. For example, H.R. 107-10 refers to the 10th bill introduced in the House of Representatives in the 107th Congress.

Notes on Committee Hearings

Hearings are useful because they include testimony by experts in the field, as well by as lay persons with an interest in the proposed legislation. Person invited to speak at hearings submit prepared testimony which they read to the committee, and the committee members may ask questions which elicit unprepared remarks. Some sources of published hearings include only the prepared testimony. Others are a transcript of everything that was said at the hearing. See the notes on the list of sources that give information about what can be expected from each source.

Notes on Senate and House Reports

If a Congressional committee recommends that the bill be passed, a Report is prepared. Congressional reports are useful for research into legislative intent.

Reports are given consecutive numbers within each Congress. For example, Senate Report 107-4 would be the fourth report from any Senate Committee in the 107th Congress. (See numbering of Congresses.)

Notes on Individual Laws as Enacted

When a law has been signed by the President, it is called a Public Law (abbreviated P.L.) and receives a new number composed of the number of the Congress and the consecutive number within that Congress. For example, P.L. 107-2 is the second law enacted in the 107th Congress. (See numbering of Congresses.)

Individual laws are first produced in print format as individual sheets or pamphlets, one per law. In this format, they are known as slip laws. The laws are later bound into volumes in numerical order as the United States Statutes at Large.

The United States Code and its various versions

Individual laws are codified, that is, incorporated into a subject arrangement of laws currently in effect.

The official codification, published by the Government Printing Office, is the United States Code (abbreviated USC). Commercial publishers produce versions in which they add annotations to each section. These annotations usually include citations to related regulations and court cases. One annotated version is the United States Code Service (abbreviated USCS), which is available online from Congressional Universe. (Another is the United States Code Annotated, abbreviated USCA, which is not available in the Wright State University Libraries.)

In the annotated versions, the text of the code itself is the same as the official version; only the annotations will be different. The annotations in the two versions will not be the same, since they are written by staff of two different publishers.

Numbering of Congresses

A Congress lasts for two years. The first year of each Congress is called the First Session and the second year the Second Session. Since some sources refer only to Congresses and some only to dates, it is convenient to have a list of the equivalents for recent Congresses:

1983-84 98th Congress 1993-94 103rd Congress 2003-04 108th Congress
1985-86 99th Congress 1995-96 104th Congress 2005-06 109th Congress
1987-88 100th Congress 1997-98 105th Congress 2007-08 110th Congress
1989-90 101st Congress 1999-2000 106th Congress
1991-92 102nd Congress 2001-02 107th Congress

  Return to Legal Research Basics
Revised 16 February 2006
http://www.wright.edu/~karen.kimber/legisf3.html 		Karen Kimber (karen.kimber@wright.edu)
Paul Laurence Dunbar Library - (937) 775-3034
Wright State University Libraries