The nonprofit Pennsylvania Cable News (PCN) network partnered with the Parliamentarians of the Pennsylvania House and Senate to walk through the steps of how an idea moves from being a bill to a law in this 15 minute tutorial video.
Trying to understand how a bill becomes a law? The US Congress has an extensive collection of video and text resources to learn about the process. Prefer video? The Schoolhouse Rock video below is a classic, catchy way to understand the basics of the American legislative process. Interested in something a little more recent? Try the second video below: How a Bill Becomes a Law: Crash Course Government and Politics #9.
According to Black's Law Dictionary, a legislative history is the "proceedings leading to the enactment of a statute, including hearings, committee reports, and floor debates. Legislative history is sometimes recorded so that it can later be used to aid in or influence interpretations of the statute". From 1975 to today, Pennsylvania legislation and their histories are available on the Pennsylvania General Assembly's website. First locate an enacted bill and then click on "histories".
Prior to 1975, compiling legislative histories requires more work with print sources. Follow these steps from the Widener School of Law:
The steps for completing a legislative history in Pennsylvania prior to 1975 legislation is generally:
Compiling a Federal Legislative History? Use this detailed beginner's guide from the Library of Congress to walk you through the process.