CHAPTER 7 STATE LEGISLATIVE RESEARCH

• Jurisdiction: North Carolina

Chapter 7 STATE LEGISLATIVE RESEARCH

A. STATE LAW ORGANIZATION

[1] Overview

Most new law students read many state judicial opinions and often research such opinions as their first exposure to the ways of finding legal sources. As a consequence, there is a tendency to see all legal problems as a quest for common law decisions. Most practitioners, however, confront daily problems involving state statutes. Thus, finding these statutes and checking for any amendments becomes a routine task.

Because statutory language is often ambiguous, it is necessary to clarify its meaning. For example, to determine the purpose or intent of the legislature, the researcher would need to examine the legislative history of the act. Case law or State Attorney General Opinions that interpret the statute or its language would also be relevant. Finally, the rules or decisions by administrative agencies or boards might help the researcher to interpret the law as well. Thus, it is important for the researcher to recognize that legal research is an integrated process that requires different levels and types of research.

In addition, a statute in one state may be based on a similar federal or sister state statute. For example, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 has been a template for many state statutes with only minor variances. Many states have adopted uniform laws prepared by the National Conference on Uniform State Laws. Therefore, if an act has a provision that is identical to a provision in another jurisdiction, interpretive case law from the sister jurisdiction may be persuasive authority.

[2] Pattern of Publication

State statutory materials are published in the same pattern of publication as the federal statutory materials. Thus, a law is first published in the form of a slip law. At the end of the legislative session, the more commonly used session laws are published. The final form of publishing laws is in the codes and annotated codes. The following chart demonstrates the particular characteristics of each stage of publication. General statements are made about the publications and a specific state example is used.

STAGES OF PUBLICATION
Form	Generally	Specifically — Texas
Slip Laws	1. Issued in most states. 2. Rarely used by the public.	1. No official publication.
Session Laws	1. Each state publishes a set that is similar to the Statutes at Large. 2. They are the authoritative text. 3. Generally, there are long delays in printing. 4. Non-cumulative indices.	1. Published on a regular basis under both the republic and State of Texas, i.e., since 1941. West publishes the General and Special Laws — Texas in two volumes for every legislative session. 2. Same. 3. Same. However, there are unofficial advance services. For example, Vernon's Texas Session Law Service (West). 4. Same.
Codes	1. Format is similar to the U.S.C. 2. Subject access. 3. Commercially published. 4. Generally unofficial. 5. Generally annotated. 6. Authority varies. 7. Supplemented — generally on an annual basis.	1. Same. Vernon Annotated Texas Statutes. 2. Same. 3. Published by West. 4. Quasi-official. 5. Annotated. 6. Not authoritative. 7. Annual pocket parts and semi-annual pamphlets.

Electronic access to statutes is available at official state websites; for example, Texas statutes appear at the Texas legislature's webpage (tlc.state.tx.us). Lexis Advance and WestlawNext contain all current state annotated codes. Fastcase and Casemaker also provide access to all current state codes.

B. STATE LAW LOCATION METHODS

Before the research process begins, you should examine the code to see how it is organized. For national access to state resources, a good starting point might be the Library of Congress State Government Information page links to the homepage for each state (www.loc.gov/rr/news/stategov/stategov.html). An alternative website is whpgs.org/f.htm, which provides links to all 50 states' statutory and administrative codes, bills, and city ordinances. The initial screen indicates currentness of material and can run several months behind official and unofficial sources. After reviewing how the state materials are organized, the typical researcher should proceed to the annotated state code, where statutory language, legislative history references, and interpretive cases appear in one source. Depending on your familiarity with the code, the subject matter, and the information available, you can use the popular name approach, topic method, or the descriptive word method to find the relevant provision.

LOOKING FOR A STATE STATUTE?

Do you have the popular name of the statute? If so, use the following methods:

1. Use the Popular Name Table in the state annotated code, if one exists.
2. If one does not exist in the state code, then check Shepard's Acts and Cases by Popular Names, online or in the hardcopy general index.

If you do not have the popular name of the statute, or if the statute does not have a popular name, use one of the following methods:

3. Topic Method: If familiar with the code, go directly to the relevant title. Once in the appropriate title, scan the outline in front of the title to find the relevant chapter and section or consult the individual title's index, typically located in the last volume of the title.
4. Descriptive Word Method: Use the key words and phrases from the TAPP rule analysis in the General Index.

The following example will demonstrate how a problem can be researched. Although this is a Texas problem, the research techniques can be used in any state code. The names of the publications may be slightly different; however, they will generally contain the same types of research materials.

EXAMPLE #1: A Texas police officer has pulled over a motorist driving a new vehicle. Even though there is a chrome decorative plate holder, the license plate itself is displayed in the front windshield. The driver received a citation for running a stop sign and a misdemeanor violation of a state law requiring proper display of a license place.

[1] Popular Name Method

Unlike federal statutory sources, an annotated state code may not have a popular name table. Texas, however, has a popular name table in the paperbound General Index to the annotated state code, as does WestlawNext. In addition, Shepard's Acts and Cases by Popular Names on Lexis Advance or in print lists both federal and state statutes by name; therefore, if there is a popular name, consult a popular name table.

[2] Topic Method

Each print code has an Individual Subject Index, often in the last volume of that subject. Thus, for example, the Probate Code has its own index and the Property Code has its individual index. If the researcher has a good working knowledge of the code and the subject matter, it is possible to make "an educated guess" as to where the statutory material will be located. It is then a matter of determining the key words and phrases for the problem, and then using those words in the volume containing the...