The State Library’s First Zoom Webinar—A Success!

On August 26th, from 2:00pm-3:00pm, the State Library’s Reference Department held its first ever Zoom webinar meeting to talk about collections available online through the Library that can help with legislative, regulatory, and government research.  Many government, law, and higher education libraries are still working remotely or are not yet providing onsite services to their patrons, so we thought it was important for this target audience to learn more about what resources are available through the State Library’s online repository, DSpace, as well as on our website.  

As it was our first online webinar hosted solely by Reference Department staff, we were unsure what the audience turnout would be.  We were surprised and excited to have a turnout that greatly exceeded our expectations!  (About 57 audience members!!!)  Thank you to everyone who joined us—we hope you found the webinar informative.  For those who were unable to join us, you’re in luck!  Both a recording of the webinar and the presentation slides are now available online:

Webinar recording (YouTube)
Presentation slides (downloads as a PDF)

The State Library also continues to provide remote services to patrons, so please feel free to reach out to us via chat, email (Reference.Department@mass.gov), or our online form.  We’re happy to answer any questions, help you find and navigate resources, and provide research assistance.

Kaitlin Connolly
Reference Department

Opinions Issued By the Attorney General

An entry from Shepard's Citations for
Chapter 796 of the 1949 Acts, providing a
reference to page 29 of the 1949 Report
of the Attorney General   

Legislators, state officials, agencies, and district attorneys often require advice on the legality or constitutionality of a law or issue that has an “immediate concrete relation to the official duties of the state agency or officer requesting the opinion.”  The Attorney General is authorized to provide formal opinions and legal advice on such matters if the request falls within the scope of the AG’s requirements, and these opinions are published in the AG’s annual reports (also known as Public Document 12).  For current information on the types of requests to which the AG will and will not respond, you can visit the office’s opinions overview page.  However, it is important to know that, as of right now, the last formal opinion issued by the AG was on October 11th, 2001.

State and federal legislation, as well as case law, are almost always referenced in the opinions depending on the subject.  Often pieces of legislation are the main subject about which the AG opines, and there are a few ways to see if the legislation you are researching was once submitted for review. One way is by using Shepard’s Citations and/or Westlaw’s KeyCite, which provide citations to relevant opinions (ex. 1949MaAG29).  The editors of the annotated editions of the Massachusetts General Laws also provide citations, but are selective as to which they include.

A helpful hint when researching: prior to 1968, opinions were not numbered individually.  Any citations to opinions that were issued before 1968 will refer to the page number of the report; later citations refer to the assigned opinion number.

Researchers should also keep in mind that the Massachusetts fiscal year begins on July 1st and ends on the following June 30th.

Want to access a report but can’t visit the State Library?  The library maintains a digital collection of reports of the Attorney General in our DSpace electronic documents repository, starting from 1832 up to the most current issue.


Kaitlin Connolly
Reference Department

Item of the Month for April 2013 - Questions and Answers on Legislative History

Senate                                                                        House

 
Lawmakers in the Commonwealth, members of the Massachusetts General Court, make the laws in the state. The Senate and House chambers (above) are where much of the legislative process happens. All proposed laws, whether they are or are not enacted can be researched in the State Library which is, of course, located in the State House.

In the course of any day in the library, there are inquiries about conducting legislative history. The wish to find this history is one of the major reasons for a visit to the library, be it a visit in person or by online inquiry. Reference staff help with inquiries of all kinds about the process and are often in receipt of questions such as the following:

1. What is Massachusetts legislative history?

It is the process of following a legislative petition (bill) to its enactment or to its failure.

2. What is the name of the Massachusetts legislative branch and how many legislators are there?

The General Court- there are 160 members of the House, 40 of the Senate. All are elected every two years.

3. There is a source which compiles legislative history for federal laws- "United States Congressional and Administrative News". Is there such a source for Massachusetts laws?

No, one must actually compile the history from scratch.

4. What are some official sources used in the library to conduct legislative history?

• Legislative petitions or bills
• House and Senate Journals
• Massachusetts General Laws
• Legislative Record or Index
• Bulletins of Committee Work
• Massachusetts Acts and Resolves

5. What is the difference between “chapters” of the Massachusetts General Laws and “chapters” of the Acts and Resolves?

The General Laws are organized into chapters representing overall subject areas. These chapters may be comprised of many different years’ Acts and Resolves. The Acts and Resolves are comprised of laws signed each year and the “chapter” numbers are assigned chronologically, determined merely by the date they are signed into law by the Governor.

6. How are the “general laws” updated?

These are updated when the legislature passes “acts” or “chapters” as mentioned above.

7. What are the compilations of the General Laws called? 

There are 3 compilations of the Massachusetts laws. The official set, published every two years, is updated with supplements. It is called General Laws of Massachusetts and is updated with supplements and Interim supplements. 

The two privately published sets- Massachusetts General Laws Annotated and the Annotated Laws of Massachusetts are updated with annual pocket parts and interim supplements.

8. How soon after the Governor signs a bill into law does it become effective?

Most become effective after 90 days. These 90 days include holidays and weekends. Some acts, become effective immediately and there will be wording saying: "This act shall take effect upon its passage". 

9. What is a “carryover provision” and does Massachusetts have it?

This provision allows a bill introduced in the first year of each two year legislative session which does not pass (elections are held in even years and the sessions are two years beginning in the January after the election) to be considered in the second year.

Before a rules change in 1994, a bill not passed in the first year would “die” and have to be reintroduced the next year and assigned a different number. The “rules change” allowed for a “carryover provision.”

10. What does “engrossment” mean?

Once both branches of the legislature have passed a bill, it goes to the Engrossing Division and is typed on special paper for a final vote enacting it.

 

Pamela Schofield
Legislative Reference Librarian