LibGuides: Iowa Legislative History: Step 1: Before you Begin

Can I Find Legislative History Information for Iowa?

Legislative history information for Iowa laws is much more limited than what is available for U.S. federal laws. That said, it is possible to locate some Iowa legislative history, and Iowa courts have cited to legislative history documents.

The book Legislative History Records, Law Library Stacks KFI 4275.M36 1999, discusses Iowa legislative history materials and provides an example of how these sources have been used in Iowa courts to interpret statutory intent.

Selected case cites are also included throughout this guide to illustrate how different sources have been used by Iowa courts in determining legislative intent.

Do I Need to Create My Own History?

Before you dive into the time consuming process of identifying and tracking down the documents that provide insight into the legisture's intent in enacting a law, complete the following steps to make sure you really need to compile the legislative history.

Read the statute carefully.
Sometimes a related code section will define a vague term, resolve ambiguity, or provide insight. Chapters 3 and 4 of the Code of Iowa provide information about Iowa statutory construction. Iowa Code § 4.6 describes the sources the court considers when trying to interpret the intent of an ambiguous statute. You may also want to review other general sources of information about statutory interpretation.
Look for cases.
Review any cases that have interpreted the statute to see if the courts have already resolved the issue. Use an annotated code, Shepards, or KeyCite to obtain a list of cases that have examined the statute.
Check for a compiled history.
Check to see if someone else has already compiled and published a legislative history analysis for the statute. These aren't as common at the state level as they are at the federal level, but checking the notes in the Iowa Code Annotated will alert you to relevant items such as law review articles.
Law review example.
The Iowa Supreme Court referenced a law review article in interpreting legislative intent in Richardson v. City of Jefferson, 257 Iowa 709, 134 N.W.2d 528 (Iowa 1965).
Access this case through Google Scholar, Westlaw, Lexis, or Bloomberg Law.
Need more?
Consult the section history information provided by the statutory code (see step 2).

Iowa Legislative History: Step 1: Before you Begin

Can I Find Legislative History Information for Iowa?

Do I Need to Create My Own History?

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