One way of researching policy is to trace the history of legislation around a certain topic or issue. It may be helpful to:
- Read policy briefs to get a sense of your topic; identify an issue (See Getting Started)
- Find a significant bill related to the issue
- Locate the bill and read the bill history and analyses
- Look at any related hearings or agency reports
- Find and read the related statute (the bill that has become law); look at the law in the Annotated Codes
- Find copies of regulations based on the statute or chapter
See also: Office of the Chief Clerk's glossary and guides to California legislation, including lifecycle of legislation and legislative process
California Courts
Published by the Judicial Council of California. Click on "reference" option on top toolbar and search materials by subject.
Legislative Index
Current session. Searchable by subject.
California State Senate
Click on Legislation. Search by keyword. Site includes a bill, bill history and bill analysis (see also Bill Information)
Also: search SOR Legislative highlights for overviews of bills passed for each year
- Bill Information
- California bills and background information, from 1993 to present. Limit to session/house. Search by bill, author, or keyword. Site includes bill, bill history and analysis. Once you have a bill number you can access the full text of bills, including status, history, votes, analyses, and veto messages.
- Digest of Significant Legislation
Major Assembly and Senate bills are arranged by subject. Each entry provides the name of the author, a brief summary, and the disposition of the bill at the end of the session. Search index for bill numbers.
Deering's California Code
Available through the Library via Lexis-Nexis Academic database
- West's Annotated California Codes
Available through the Library via Westlaw database
- California Code of Regulations (CCR)
Compilation of the full text of existing state regulations.
