Legislative Document Search Request

For this research service, Library staff will search for documentation related to one bill per request. (Companion bills are considered separate bills.)

Delivery: All materials are delivered as PDF scans

Turnaround: Research is usually completed and sent within 60 business days. Rush service is not available at this time.

About This Research Service:

Library staff will search in the following records and provide copies of any documents found that relate to the specified bill (a companion bill is considered a separate bill, and research to cover a companion bill must be ordered separately):

Legislative Journals Only

• House and Senate Journals--all years are available
• This basic service is designed for those who do not have other access to legislative journals. Year and bill number are required.

Committee Minutes Only

• Committee minutes--1911 to 1998 available for Senate; 1919 to 1998 available for House
• This specified service is designed for those who already have the information found in the journals and are seeking records on a bill from a specific committee (and its subcommittees, as applicable). Committee name and dates the bill was heard in committee are required.
• Please note: Not all conference committee and older committee records were transferred to the MN Historical Society. If we cannot immediately locate it/them using our inventories and finding aids, we will refund your money.

Extended Legislative Document Search

• House and Senate Journals--all years available
• Committee minutes--1911 to 1998 available for Senate; 1919 to 1998 available for House
• Bill summaries--available for 1975 to 2008 for most House bills and some Senate bills
• Senate Briefly articles--available for 1977 to 1984 for most Senate bills (1985 to 2009 are available online for free and are not included in this service)
• This service is the most complete offered, and requires only the year and bill number.

Which Bill Numbers to order: It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine which bill(s) are of interest. Our online research guide to Legislative History provides guidance on this process. Minnesota Laws are available on the Revisor of of Statutes website and they provide the House and Senate bill (H.F or S.F.) numbers for each law. If you have other questions, please contact the Gale Family Library.

Audio recordings: Legislative audio recordings from 1991 to 2003 are no longer held by the Minnesota Historical Society. They were transferred to the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, digitized, and made available online. More recent recordings (2004 to present) are available online from the House and Senate. Tape recordings prior to 1991 no longer exist.

Please Note: The Minnesota Historical Society Library’s ability to provide assistance in researching the intent of a Minnesota law or statute is limited to locating and photocopying documents pertaining to a specific law. The Library is not staffed to engage in comprehensive Legislative research and analysis, or to determine the relevancy of the material located. The Library makes no representation that the legislative information provided is conclusive or exhaustive.

• Legislative History Research Guide