You can search California cases to locate any decisions which have relied on legislative history to interpret the code section you are researching. The best ways to find such cases are:
Hearings: California hearings are fact-finding sessions, with witnesses testifying before the committee that schedules the hearing. They typically focus on a particular subject, although discussion concerning specific legislative bills may be included. Unlike the U.S. Congress, the California legislature does not transcribe most hearings. The library has some hearing transcripts in its collection; to find them, search our library catalog for "California" AND "hearing" and the particular topic. The California State Archives has some transcripts of hearings going back to 1940. Contact archivesweb@sos.ca.gov to inquire.
A video archive of Senate Floor Sessions and Senate Committee Hearings that have been televised as of September 27th, 2005 is available on the State Senate's website. Hearings are listed by date and committee, so you will need to look at the bill history to find the relevant hearing. Look for language in the final history such as "From Committee" to determine the date of the hearing. Videos of Assembly hearings are available from Jan. 3, 2018 to present on the State Assembly's website.
Reports: Reports are studies made by Legislative Committees, Subcommittees, or Joint Committees; they contain findings, recommendations, and witness testimony. They are usually made at the request of either legislative body by means of a resolution or joint resolution. The Judiciary Committees often evaluate California bills.
In the library catalog, you can search for reports and hearings by bill number (e.g. AB908). If you don’t locate any hearings or reports with this search, you can also search by title, subject, and author.
The Appendices to the Senate and Assembly Journals include a few selected hearings and reports reprinted in full. See the Journals tab for links.
Other finding aids that identify hearings and reports and indicate if they have been transcribed and/or published are: California Interim Legislative Committees and Reports (1955-69) ( KFC10.B8 5th Stacks), Hearings and Reports of Committees of the California Legislature (1961-84 ) ( KFC16.L4 - 5th Floor Stacks), List of Reports Prepared by State and Local Agencies, 1994 ( KFC721.A15 L57 - 5th Floor Stacks).
California Law Revision Commission Reports (1957-). Includes recommendations to the legislature and selected Senate and Assembly Reports on particular bills. The California Law Revision Commission maintains a database of California Code Sections Affected by Commission Recommendations on its website.
The McGeorge Law Review published an annual review of California legislation until 2012. It included tables of bill numbers and chapter numbers with cross references.
You can search journal and newspaper articles for discussions about legislation and references to reports and hearings. Such discussion are found in legal newspapers such as the LA Daily Journal, local newspapers such as the Sacramento Bee, state government journals such as the California Journal and publications of interested organizations such as the Consumer Attorneys of California.
Contains more than 2,500 law and law-related periodicals. Coverage for all journals is from inception and goes through the most currently published issues allowed based on contracts with publishers. Search by article title, author, subject, state or country published, full text, and narrow by date.
Call Sacramento for Further Unpublished Sources:
The State Archives Legislative Resources makes available to the public many legislative resource materials. Detailed records are available at the Archives and include: The Governor's Chaptered Bill File, 1943 - 2018; Legislative Committee Records, 1940 - current; Author’s Bill Files, 1950 - date; and Agency Legislative Records, various dates. The State Archives is located in Sacramento and for $0.25 per page, they will photocopy and send all of the information available in their files for a particular bill.
The California State Library is the main depository for legislative and executive branch publications distributed to libraries. You can search the California State Library's collections by clicking on the Catalog tab on the Library's homepage.
Pay Someone to Do the Legislative History Search for You:
There are several commercial services that research and compile California Legislative Histories including Legislative Intent Service and Legislative Research and Intent. These services vary in price and can be quite expensive.
Free Offer for UC Law SF Students and Faculty:
UC Law SF faculty and students can get free legislative history documents from the Legislative Research and Intent (LRI) online store. To get free access to this collection, contact one of the UC Law SF librarians to complete the request form. There are four categories of accepted use for law school students and law school professors: (1) law review articles, (2) pro bono or clinical projects, (3) research papers, and (4) talks and lectures.