While the Pennsylvania General Assembly website is a helpful resource to finding legislative information online, it may not cover the years you need. Also, not all legislative actions listed on the Pennsylvania General Assembly website are linked on the act’s history entry page. So while you may start your research online, be aware that you may also need to consult a print source.
See the Key Resources page of this guide for a list of resources needed to complete a Pennsylvania legislative history. The years covered by each source are also included.
The history and index pages for the pre-1970 bills do not always indicate when there are remarks or debate. When looking at the pre-1970 history entry pages in the History of House Bills, History of Senate Bills, index pages to the House Legislative Journal, or in the Senate Legislative Journal it is best to check each individual entry for remarks or debate in the appropriate journal(s).
See the Key Resources page of this guide for where to find the History and Journal volumes.
Sometimes it is challenging to find the relevant entry in the Legislative Journals' subject index for older acts. Try looking at the act summary found at the beginning of each act in the Laws of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Terms can also be found in the margins next to the text of the act. Key terms from the summary and margins were often used in the Journal indexes.
For where to find the Laws of the General Assembly, see the Pennsylvania Session Laws guide.
In Pennsylvania, P.L. stands for Pamphlet Law, and it refers to the page the act starts in the Laws of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
If an act's legislative source lists a P.L. number but not an act number, consult the Laws of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to determine the act number. The act number is commonly listed at the beginning of the act.
For where to find the Laws of the General Assembly, see the Pennsylvania Session Laws guide.