Florida Legislative History

Florida statutes are the law of Florida as created by the Florida legislature.  Any legislative history research must begin with either an existing Florida statute or constitutional provision.

A verbatim publication of the general and special laws enacted by the Florida Legislature in a given year and published each year following the regular session of the legislature. It presents the laws in the order in which they are numbered by the Secretary of State, as well as resolutions and memorials passed by the legislature.

Each bill introduced in the Florida Senate or the Florida House of Representatives is assigned to a legislative committee of the chamber in which the bill was introduced for their review.  Committees then consider the bill, gather evidence, hear witness testimony, an review the bills for fiscal considerations and conflicts with existing Florida law.  Committees then prepare a Committee Report or Staff Analysis and make a favorable or unfavorable recommendation regarding the bill to the full body of their respective chamber. 

Staff analysis' are important for legislative history research in Florida because they provide the most insight into the thought process behind approving a bill for consideration by the full body of their chamber.  Staff analysis':

• Discusses the language of the bill.
• Summarizes existing law related to the subject of the new legislation and differentiates between them. 
• Delineates the goals of the legislation. 
• Examines the potential effects of the legislation. 
• Provides “fiscal notes” examining the financial impact of the legislation on the state and/or departmental budgets. 
• Includes economic impact statements examining the impact of the legislation on the broader economy as related to the subject matter of the bill.

Legislative Journals are the official daily and annual record of the proceedings of the Florida legislature.  The Florida Senate and the Florida House of Representatives each produce a journal specific to their chamber.

The Senate Journal is considered the official record of the Florida Senate as overseen by the Secretary of hte Senate.  Daily Journal are provisional.  An annual journal is produced at the conclusion of each annual legislative session.  

The House Journal is considered the official record of the Florida House of Representatives as overseen by the Clerk of the House.  Daily Journals are considered provisions.  An annual bound journal is produced prior to the beginning of the next annual legislative session.

This electronic publication includes a chronological listing of all actions concerning all legislation introduced during a session. Sometimes referred to as “The Citator”, this also provides statistics, descriptions by bill number, sponsor reports by member and committee, and indices by statute number affected and by subject.