Step 7. Analyze the Assembly and Senate Journals.
For each legislative session, the Assembly and Senate both publish Journals that are organized chronologically and list the actions that took place on each day the legislature was in session. The Assembly and Senate Journals contain committee and floor roll call votes, Governor’s veto messages, legislators' letters of intent, and Legislative Counsel’s Opinions if printed. While only a few legislative counsel opinions are reprinted each year, they can be very valuable.
Look at the indexes to the Journals for the year the bill passed. The index is usually in the last volume of the Journal for each year. The Bill Action Index lists all of the page numbers in the Journals where the bill is mentioned. The Alphabetical Index lists other legislative history documents included in the Journals. Look in the alphabetical index for the bill author's last name, or the terms "Legislative Counsel" and "Legislative Intent." Also check the listings for "Journal, Print in" or "Print in Journal" for letters of clarification and communication regarding bills, which usually contain additional information on intent. For the years prior to 1971, check for an appendix; committee reports on passed or pending legislation were sometimes printed in these appendices.
Other items included in the Journals may not be helpful, such as the mere mention that the bill was read on the Assembly floor on a particular date.