Sometimes the meaning of a statute is unclear. Legislative history documents may shed light on what the General Assembly intended when they passed legislation (legislative intent). Legislative history documents are materials issued when the bill was going through the legislative process.
To identify legislative history documents for a particular Ohio Revised Code section, look at the History/Credits underneath the text of the statute in an annotated code. Identify the Act (Session Law) you are interested in.
QUICK FIX:
If the Act was passed 1989 or later, a great place to start is Hannah (Ohio) Capitol Connection . For Acts 1997 and later, the Ohio General Assembly's webpage has many documents accessible. The main legislative history documents in Ohio are bills and Session Laws, and Legislative Service Commission Analysis. Older LSC Analysis back to 1962 is on microfilm.
For more details, see additional pages in this guide:
The links go to where these documents are available on the free web. For information on how to find older documents and Lexis/Westlaw links, see Types of Legislative History Documents page in this guide.
| Legislative Process | Federal | Ohio |
| Bill Introduced | Bill | Bill LSC Analysis |
| Committee holds hearing | Committee Prints (research reports) | LSC Staff Research Reports |
| Committee recommends legislation | House/Senate Report | LSC Analysis |
| Debates and Votes |
Congressional Record - debates House/Senate Journal - votes |
The Ohio Channel - debates House/Senate Journals - votes |
| Amended bill sent to conference committee | Conference Report | |
| Bill Becomes Law |
Slip Law United States Statutes at Large US Code |
Laws of Ohio (session laws) |
| Veto Message |
Congressional Record Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents |
Governor’s Messages |
Courts may or may not rely upon the legislative history documents. In Ohio, legislative history documents are not "of record", unlike federal legislative history, so they are not required to be retained. The weight given by courts to various types of legislative history documents is discussed below. For more info see OJur3d Statutes, Sections 165-168.
Ohio State Bar Association Legislative Counsel Steve Stover explains the legislative process, in the context of OSBA recommended legislation.