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Nevada Legislative History

This guide provides a visual overview of performing legislative history research for Nevada Statutes.
  • Home
    • On this Page
    • Why Research Legislative History?
    • LCB's Legislative History Search Links
    • Nevada Legislative History Research
    • Nevada Legislative History Research Links
  • Step 1: Retrieve the Statute from the Nevada Revised Statutes on the Legislature's Website
  • Step 2: Review the Statute's History Note
  • Step 3: The Legislative History Search Template
  • Step 4: Review the Search Results
  • Step 5: Accessing Session InformationToggle Dropdown
    • Pre-1965
    • 1965 - 1991
    • 1985 - Present
  • Nevada Legislative History Flowcharts
  • The 1911 Acts

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On this Page

This guide helps you learn why new or changed laws were made, but not where the laws first came from. When learning why a law was made, you think about what lawmakers were thinking and what problems they wanted to fix. Keep in mind, courts don’t always have to use this information, but it can help. To study old laws, you can look at meeting notes and journals, but notes are only available from 1965 onward and should always be considered persuasive, not binding. 

Why Research Legislative History?

Researching legislative history helps uncover the intent behind a law. It answers questions like:

  • What were lawmakers thinking when they created or changed the law?
  • What problem was the law trying to solve?
  • Are today's cultural values or contemporary issues different than when these laws were passed? 

This is especially important when the law’s language is unclear or open to interpretation.

  • Researching Legislative History by Nicolas C. Anthony, ESQ.
    Nevada Lawyer (Oct. 2013)

The purpose of this guide is to provide instructions on researching legislative intent for new or amended statutes. It is NOT intended to help you figure out where a statute came from (i.e., the statute's origin). 

  • Nevada Statutory Derivation Research Guide
    Review this guide to help figure out a statute's origin. Some of Nevada's older statutes have their origin in the laws of other states!

LCB's Legislative History Search Links

  • Legislative History Search
    Use this site to search for legislative histories compiled by the Research Library Staff at LCB.
  • Legislative History Tutorial
    Need help getting started on a legislative history? You may want to consult the LCB's Legislative History tutorial.
  • Legislative History FAQs
    Frequently asked questions about conduction legislative histories in Nevada.
  • Legislative Counsel's Preface to the NRS
  • LCB Research Division Historical Documents

Nevada Legislative History Research

Before diving in, here are some key points to understand:

What Are You Researching?

Primarily, Committee Minutes.

  • When a bill is introduced, it’s assigned to one or more committees that hold hearings to discuss it.
  • Minutes from these hearings provide insight into lawmakers’ thoughts, concerns, and deliberations on the proposed legislation.

What Does a Compiled Legislative History Include?

  1. Bill History – A record of the bill’s progression through the legislative process.
  2. Committee Minutes – Detailed records of committee hearings.
  3. Exhibits – Supplemental documents submitted during hearings and referenced in testimony.

Pre-1965 Statutes

If you’re researching a statute’s history from before 1965, committee minutes won’t be available. Committees were not required to keep minutes until after 1965.


Senate and Assembly Journals

  • What They Are: Daily records of activities on the floors of each legislative house.
  • How to Use Them: While they document what happened, they don’t provide detailed discussions of specific issues, making them a secondary tool for legislative history research.
  • Online Access: Journals are available online for both the Assembly and Senate starting from 1997.

Nevada Legislative History Research Links

  • LCB Legislative History Search
    The Legislative Council Bureau (LCB) often compiles legislative histories, saving you the effort. However, if a compiled history isn’t available for your bill, use the steps outlined in this guide to locate the information you need.
  • Committee Minutes 2009-current through NELIS
    Select the legislative session you are interested in, then select BILLS THAT BECAME LAW. The bills will be organized by bill number. If you are on a Windows computer, use CTRL+F to search the list by keywords.
  • Committee Minutes 1985-Current Session
    Select the session, then search through bill information.
  • Committee Minutes 1965-1991
    Choose the legislative session and select the Index of Bills for the house you’re researching. Locate your bill in the index to find out which committee it was assigned to. Then, review the committee minutes available for that bill.
  • Videos of Archived Meetings
    Videos of archived meetings from 2015-current are made available as a courtesy of the Nevada Legislature and are part of an ongoing effort to keep the public informed of and involved in the legislative process.
  • Session Information
    Access Journals on the Nevada Legislature's website. Once there, select a legislative session, and then access the journals. Consistent coverage begins in 1997.
  • Next: Step 1: Retrieve the Statute from the Nevada Revised Statutes on the Legislature's Website >>
  • Last Updated: Feb 12, 2025 11:18 AM
  • URL: https://nvsctlawlib.libguides.com/nvleghist
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Subjects: Nevada
Tags: Legislative History

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Advisory Note

This information is provided as a courtesy only. The law library shall not be liable for errors contained herein or for direct, indirect, special or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing of this material. The law librarians are not members of the Nevada State Bar and nothing on this site should be considered as legal advice.