-
PENNSYLVANIA'SLEGISLATIVE REFERENCE BUREAUServing the Pennsylvania General Assembly for over 110 years.VIEW MORE ABOUT US -
Our HistoryThe Legislative Reference Bureau was established by the act of April 27, 1909 (P.L.208, No.143).It was reorganized as a legislative agency by the act of May 7, 1923 (P.L.158, No.119).Learn More -
PENNSYLVANIA SESSION LAWS PRESERVATION PROJECTLearn More
Who We Are
With a long and proud tradition of providing exceptional service and expertise, the Bureau prepares thousands of bills, amendments, resolutions and citations for introduction by the members of the Senate and House of Representatives during each two-year legislative session. For decades, the Bureau has been staffed by highly trained and skilled practitioners in the field of legislative drafting.
Our Primary Objective
In a message to the legislature on January 5, 1909, Governor Edwin S. Stuart remarked that it is unreasonable to expect that members of the General Assembly should be able to prepare bills upon every subject that may come before the Senate or House of Representatives. To provide the legislature with every reasonable assistance, Governor Stuart recommended the establishment of a legislative reference department.
Our Services
Drafting
The drafting process begins with a request, sent from a member or legislative staff, to a drafting attorney in the Bureau. The drafting attorney follows up with the member, if needed, to ensure that the member's objectives are accomplished.
Citations
The Citations Unit creates citations to celebrate achievements and offer condolence citations to honor the lives of noteworthy individuals.
Code and Bulletin
The Pennsylvania Code is the official publication of State agency regulations and court rules and the Pennsylvania Bulletin is a weekly publication of that material. The legislation authorizing these publications was the result of decades of effort by many individuals, organizations and sessions of the General Assembly.
Editing and Publishing
Since the legislative session of 1969, the Bureau has had the responsibility of editing and overseeing the publication of the slip laws and the Laws of Pennsylvania (Pamphlet Laws). In 1974, the Bureau was also given statutory authority to edit and issue an official publication of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, composed of 79 titles, arranged by subject matter.
Right-To-Know
The Legislative Reference Bureau, under section 504(a) of the Right-to-Know Law, as enacted February 14, 2008 (P.L. 6, 14, No.3) (65 P.S. § 76.504(a)) Purdon's Pennsylvania Legislative Service, No. 1 (2008), proposes to add 101 Pa. Code Chapter 31 (relating to Right-to-Know Law) as set forth in Annex A.
Legislative History
The Legislative History unit performs the critical tasks of compiling, indexing and updating the legislative history for House bills and resolutions and maintaining files on the status of Senate and House of Representatives legislative documents under consideration or passed by the General Assembly.
See Our statistics
The Bureau in Numbers
These statistics are based on the production rate of a two-year legislative session.