128 



National Resources Committee 



Journals of the United States Senate in All Cases of 

 Impeachment^ 1789-190Jf (Sen. Doc. 876, 62d Conp;., 

 2d sess., 1912)." 



Information regarding the business operations of the 

 two Houses may be found in the Annual Reports of 

 the Sccrelanj of the Senate and Clerk of the Hoit.fe. 



No State legishxture, so far as tlie wi'iter can learn, 

 has caused to be prepared compilations giving the his- 

 torical development and interpretation of its organiza- 

 tion and procedural practices analogous to those issued 

 by the National Congress to -which reference has just 

 been made. All, or practically all, however, issue 

 yearly, or biennially, volumes variously styled State 

 Manuals, Offt.cial Registers, Blue Books, or the like, 

 which give the rules of procedure of the two Houses, 

 together with other data regarding the Government. 

 These books partake partially of the character of the 



Federal Senate and House Manuals and partially of 

 that of the Congressional Directory}^ 



Only in a few cases have the State legislatures under- 

 taken special surveys of their procedural systems with 

 a view to their improvement. Investigation reveals 

 only the following of comparatively recent date: 



Nebraska: Report of Joint Committee on Reform of Legis- 

 l;',tire Procedure and BudKet, 1914. 



Massachusetts: Report of Special Joint Committee on Legis- 

 Intive Procedure, 1015. 



Vermont: Report of Joint Committee on Revision of tlic 

 Rules of the Manual of Parliamcntarj' Procedure, 1916. 



California: Report of Interim Committee on Legislative Pro- 

 cedure and Reduction of Legislative Expense, 1932. 



In a few cases, the Legislative Reference Bureaus 

 of the States have issued pamphlets having for their 

 pui-pose to describe or suggest improvements in the 

 legislative procedures of their States.^* 



III. SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS 



In the part immediately preceding, the importance 

 of legislative records as source material for research 

 students and the obligation under which legislative 

 bodies rest to preserve and render them available have 

 been pointed out. From action in this way, which may 

 be termed a research obligation incidental to the per- 

 formance of their pi-imary function, we now turn to 

 a consideration of the extent to which these bodies, 

 availing themselves of their general powers, ha\e 

 sought to go beyond this and prosecute special inquiries 

 into matters in which they may be interested or regard- 

 ing which, in their opinion, it is desirable to have 

 information which has not been made available, or 

 wliich cannot equally well be made available, by 

 agencies of the other two branches of Government or 

 l)rivate efforts. 



It is hardly necessary to say that this power of 

 making special investigations is one that has been 

 largely availed of by our legislative bodies in the past, 

 and every indication points to its continued use on an 

 extensive scale. Nor can there be any question that, 

 though this power may be at times used for purely 

 partisan or frivolous ends, it is one that should be used 

 as the most effective means of providing the legislatures 

 with the information needed by them in the perform- 

 ance of their duties. As Prof. Joseph P. Chamberlain, 



"Valuable as these documents regarding •the organization and pro 

 wdure of the two Houses of Congress are, it is Important that the 

 student should appreciate that the.v give onI.v a partial picture of tlie 

 condition.s actually governing the organization and procedure of these 

 two bodies. This arises from the fact that there have developed, outside 

 of the formal rules, conventions that are of the utmost Importance as 

 they affect the actual operation of the rules and the manner in which 

 the two Houses conduct their business. For information regarding 

 these political practices, the student must turn to privately published 

 works having for their purpose to subject the organization, procedure, 

 and work of our legislative bodies to interpretative, criti^'ul. and c<in- 

 structlve examinatit>n. 



one of our leading authorities on the legislative branch, 

 has laointed out : " 



The great majorit.v of ijue.-itions which come before the legis- 

 latures are non-partisan and In no way affect the political 

 questions in respect of which the members of the legislature, 

 or the leaders of the political parties, are particularly competent, 

 but rather involve complicated technical problems, such as 

 questions of the law of decedents' estates, or modification of the 

 corporate law. or real property law, or involve Important 

 projects of social reform in respect of which it is important 

 for the body which mu.«t make a decision to know both the 

 facts and public opinion. * * * 



With the complexity of business and the great number 

 of bills presented at each session, it is becoming increasingly 

 important that the legislatures devise ways and means of 

 initting their members into a position to judge intelligently and 

 fairly the proposals which come liefore them. * • * ^^•ith 

 so short a time at its disposal and so great a crowd of reque-sts 

 for legislation, and with the increasing complexity of the prob- 

 lems involved, it is not surprising that the legislatures are 

 sliowing an increasing tendency to appoint commissions to 

 study important questions. 



Investigating Agency 



Granting that it is desirable that legislative bodies 

 shall make investigations of this character, the ques- 



"> For a list of these manuals see Jerome K. Wilcox (compiler) : 

 Bibliography of Offlctal Rosters, State Manuals, Yearbooks, etc.. Cur- 

 rently Issued. John Crerar Library. 1930; and the periodical Sstatc 

 Government for more recent data regarding such publications. 



" In considering the rules of procedure of the State legislatures It Is 

 Important to bear in mind that the constitutions of the several states 

 very generally contain provisions regarding the organization and pro- 

 cedure of the legislntive chambers to a far greater extent than in the 

 case of the Federal Constitution. These documents therefore must be 

 consulted by the student desiring to make a study of State legislative 

 organization and procedure. 



" Tfte Legislator, March 1929. The Legislator was published for a 

 short time by the .American Legislators' Association as its organ, and 

 has been supplanted by The State. 



