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Iowa Legislative History: Step 5: House & Senate Journals

Note on Steps Four and Five

For many bills, you will already have completed this work as part of Step Four, the BillBook Review. 

Step 5: Use Journals To Compile A Bill History

If you were not able to get a compiled list of actions that each chamber took on the bill from the BillBook, you can compile your own using the House and Senate Journals. The Journals record actions such as the introduction of legislation or votes taken in the House or Senate. Note that the Iowa House and Senate Journals do not include floor debate. If the governor vetoes or item vetoes legislation passed by the General Assembly, a veto letter will typically be issued and can be found in the House and Senate Journals.

Bills available from the Iowa Legislature's website (1995 or later) will include a list of actions taken and will link or cite to the journals. Look for Current Bill History or Complete History.

House & Senate Journal Sources

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