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Ohio State University logo University Libraries : Government Documents

Resources for Compiling a Legislative History of an Ohio Law

 How a Bill Becomes a Law in Ohio | Compiling a Legislative History | Guides and Indexes |
Ohio General Assembly Publications | Ohio Executive, Administrative, and Regulatory Publications |
Libraries | Federal Law

How a Bill Becomes a Law in Ohio

ActionDocumentation
Bill introduced and referred to Reference Committee Bill
Ohio House Journal (or Ohio Senate Journal)
Bill referred to CommitteeHearings
Committee reports to House (or Senate) Ohio House/Senate Journal
Floor Action
Rules Committee
Debates and vote		Engrossed Bill
Ohio House/Senate Journal
Ohio Legislature Live!
Bill sent to Senate (House)
Process repeated in Senate (House)		same as above
Bill with amendments returned to House (or Senate)
Concurrence,
Or Conference Committee		Ohio House/ Senate Journal
Enrolled Bill
Bill sent to Governor to signActs

For more detailed information on the legislative process in the Ohio General Assembly (Ohio House and Senate) see

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Compiling a Legislative History
  1. Locate the law
    • Ohio General Assembly web site
    • Ohio Capitol Connection
    • Baldwin's Ohio Legislative Service
    • Baldwin's Ohio Revised Code Annotated
    • Acts

  2. Locate the Legislative Services Commission (LSC) Bill Analysis
    • Ohio General Assembly web site
    • Ohio Capitol Connection
    • Ohio Historical Society - microfilm 1961-1986
    • Ohio Supreme Court Library - microfilm 1961-1990, print 1991-1996

  3. Locate information on House and Senate consideration of bill
    • Ohio General Assembly web site
    • Ohio Capitol Connection
      • Bill Files
      • Summaries of Hearings
      • Committee Reports
    • The Bulletin
    • House and Senate Journals
    • Summary of Enactments 1957-1994
    • Digest of Enactments 1995 - present
    • Ohio Historical Society - Bill Files

  4. Locate other background materials
    • Columbus Dispatch
    • Other Ohio newspapers
    • LSC staff reports (search OSCAR under author "Ohio General Assembly")
    • Law journals

  5. Locate Bills
    • General Assembly web site
    • Ohio Capitol Connection
    • OSU Law Library 1920-present
    • Ohio Historical Society 1838-present

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Guides and Indexes

 A Guidebook for Ohio Legislators | Ohio Capitol Connection | Ohio General Assembly Web Site
Ohio Legal Research Guide | Ohio's Laws, Rules, and Constitution | Shepard's Acts and Cases

A Guidebook for Ohio Legislators

Intended for use by members of the Ohio General Assembly, this guide provides an overview of the Ohio legislative process and publications. Includes a glossary of terms.

Call Number: KFO 421.5 .R8 1997
Location: OSU Main Library Reference Area (Older editions in Main Stacks)
Electronic: Connect to A Guide for Ohio Legislators

Ohio Capitol Connection

Information about the current (125th) General Assembly, and full text of many General Assembly publications from the 118th General Assembly to present.

Available: OSU (subscription)
Connect to Ohio Capitol Connection

Ohio General Assembly Web Site

Provides full text access to many current (125th) General Assembly publications, such as Bills, Bill Analyses, and Status Report of Legislation. (Includes 124th, 123rd and some 122nd General Assembly publications.) Information about Ohio legislators and the legislative process also available.

Available: public site (free access)
Connect to the Ohio General Assembly Web Site

Ohio Legal Research Guide

Comprehensive guide to Ohio legislative, administrative, and judicial legal resources.

Call Number: KFO 75 P88 1997
Location: OSU Main Library Reference Area

Ohio Legislation and Documents

Web access to Session Laws of the 122nd-125th General Assemblies, Ohio Revised Code, Ohio Administrative Code, Ohio Constitution, and other resources.

Available: public site (free access)
Connect to Ohio Legislation and Documents

Shepard's Acts and Cases

Citations to federal and state acts and cases listed alphabetically by popular name. Bound edition updated by cumulative supplement.

Call Number: KF 90 S53
Location: OSU Main Library Reference Area
Library Has: 1992 edition plus cumulative supplement

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Ohio General Assembly Publications

 Bills (Ohio) | Bill Analyses | Bill Files | Bulletin | Committee Hearings | Committee Reports |
Digest of Enactments | LSC Staff Reports | Ohio House Journal | Ohio Senate Journal |
Summary of Enactments | Status Report of Legislation

Bills (Ohio)

Bills are the means by which legislation is introduced in the Ohio General Assembly. Bills are numbered consecutively within the House (H.B.) and Senate (S.B.) starting with 1 at the beginning of each new General Assembly.

Bills may have multiple versions:

Available:

Electronic:

Bill Analyses

The Legislative Service Commission creates a bill analysis for each bill scheduled for committee hearings. The analysis summarizes the bill and amendments to date, lists sponsors, and provides a legislative history. It is updated as the bill moves through the legislative process. A Final Analysis is prepared for bills passed by the General Assembly. Note: The analysis does not reflect the Governor's actions.

See also Bill Files, Digest of Enactments, and Ohio Legislative Service Annotated.

Available:

Electronic:

Bill Files

Collection of multiple versions of bills, bill analyses, and other materials gathered or compiled by the Legislative Service Commission.

Available: Ohio Historical Society, 1949-

Bulletin

Lists bills introduced, dates of legislative activity, and references to House and Senate Journals. Includes a subject index.

Available:

Committee Hearings

After being assigned to a committee, most bills (especially House bills), receive at least one public hearing. Usually two or more hearings are held, one for proponents, and one for opponents.

There are no official records of hearings. Summaries of testimonies, beginning with the 116th General Assembly (1985) are included in Bill Files. Summaries also are available via Ohio Capitol Connection beginning with the 118th General Assembly.

Committee Reports

Committee reports are the means by which committees report their finding to the House or Senate. References to Committee Reports can be found in the House and Senate Journals. Reports issued since 1989 are included in Bill Files. Reports issued prior to 1989 are unavailable.

Electronic: Ohio Capitol Connection - 118th Congress-present

Digest of Enactments (1995-present)
Summary of Enactments (1957-1994)

Annual compilation of condensed versions of Final Analyses of Bills for bills enacted in that year.

Available:

Electronic: Ohio General Assembly Web Site - 1997-present [select "Connect to Legislative Services Commission"]

LSC Staff Reports

In depth research on selected policy issues. A list of reports issued since 1955 is available via the Legislative Services Commission page (General Assembly Web Site. )

Available: OSU Main Library - Search OSCAR by title of report
Electronic: General Assembly Web Site - recent reports [Select "Connect to Legislative Services Commission"]

Ohio House Journal

Produced daily when the the General Assembly is in session, the House Journal is a procedural account of House activities. The text of floor amendments are included, but not bills, reports, or debates. The Journal is bound at the end of the Assembly. The Bulletin is reprinted in its index.

Available:

Ohio Legislature Live!

Video clips providing unedited coverage of Ohio House of Representative and Senate sessions. Includes debates and votes.

Available: 122nd-125th General Assemblies.

Electronic: Connect to web site. (Note: RealPlayer required to view video clips.)

Ohio Senate Journal

Produced daily when the General Assembly is in session, the Senate Journal is a procedural account of Senate activities. The text of floor amendments are included, but not that of bills, reports, or debates. The Journal is eventually bound with the the Bulletin reprinted in its index.

Available:

Status Report of Legislation

Available: LSC Bill Room - 122nd-123rd General Assemblies
Electronic: Ohio General Assembly Web Site [Select "Connect to Legislative Services Commission"]

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Ohio Executive, Administrative, and Regulatory Publications

 Acts | Laws of Ohio | Ohio Revised Code | Ohio Legislative Services Annotated |
Ohio Administrative Code | Ohio Monthly Record

Acts

Ohio laws are first published in pamphlet or "slip" format. Ohio laws in this form are called Acts. Ohio Acts retain their bill numbers.

Available:

Electronic: See Laws of Ohio

Laws of Ohio

Laws of each General Assembly session are bound together in bill number order (Senate bills first, then House).

Note: Series titles and organization have varied over time. (Other titles include Session Laws and Statutes of Ohio)

Available:

Electronic:

Ohio Revised Code

Codification of "general and permanent laws" currently in force. The Ohio Revised Code brings together, in subject (Title) order, initial laws and subsequent amendments. There is no "official" current revised code. Three publishers, Baldwin, Page, and Anderson, produce unofficial revised codes.

Available:

Electronic:

Ohio Legislative Service Annotated

Monthly supplements to Baldwin's Revised Ohio Revised Code. The OLS provides the text of new laws, selected LSC bill analyses, and the status of bills. It includes indexes to bills and laws.

Available:

Ohio Administrative Code

State departments and agencies establish rules and regulations. These regulations are codified in the Ohio Administrative Code.

Available:

Electronic:

Ohio Monthly Record

Supplements the Ohio Administrative Code. The full text of final rules and regulations are printed in the Ohio Monthly Record as well as summaries of proposed regulations and dates and locations of public hearings.

Available:

Electronic: Ohio Legislation and Documents

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Libraries

The libraries listed below have extensive collections of Ohio Legislative materials. Hours of operation and services to the general public vary.

Michael E. Moritz Law Library (OSU Law Library)
The Ohio State University College of Law Library's State Collection is located on the second floor of the library. Materials are arranged in alphabetical order by state. Its collections are included in OSCAR (location code LAW).

Legislative Service Commission
The Legislative Service Commission provides research assistance to the Ohio General Assembly. It also produces General Assembly publications. Copies of current session and the most recent past session General Assembly publications are available to the public. Many current publications are posted on the Commission's web pages.

Ohio Historical Society
The Ohio Historical Society is the official archives for the State of Ohio. Its State Archives collection includes Bill Files (copies of proposed bills and LSC Bill Analyses and may include impact studies, reports, testimonies, and other materials gathered by LSC staff). The Historical Society Collections Catalog is accessible via the society's web pages.

State Library of Ohio
The State Library maintains a collection of Ohio government publications. Its collections are included in the OhioLink catalog.

Supreme Court of Ohio Library
The Supreme Court Library has a comprehensive collection of Ohio legal materials.

Many libraries in Ohio provide access to online resources such as Ohio Capitol Connection through OhioLink (academic libraries) or OPLIN (public libraries).

Return to State of Ohio Documents | Government Documents | Reference Resources

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URL: http://library.osu.edu/sites/reference/govdocs/ohleghis.htm
IF you have trouble accessing this page, contact Sherry Engle Moeller at 614-688-8778 or moeller.63@osu.edu.
Please send any questions and comments to: moeller.63@osu.edu
Created by: Sherry Engle Moeller. Last Modified: 25 September 2007.