Return to Answer

Laws are collective works that often have multiple authors.

Law do not have, in general, a single author, although minor, uncontroversial legislation that passed more or less unanimously without much debate, and very short laws that are never amended successfully, can sometimes have had a single dominant author.

Often, the process is that a legislator or constituent suggests an idea. A lobbyist or governmental staff person or lawyer or law professor who remains nameless often actually prepares the first draft (although there are rare cases where a non-legislator drafter is well known, such as in the case of the French Civil Code and the Field Codes in the United States and some of the "Uniform Laws" drafted by famous law professors and adopted by multiple U.S. states in the United States). Multiple legislators may introduce or sponsor a first draft. Additional amendments are made by others and voted on collectively before the final draft. And, then, the final draft becomes law after a final vote by a group of people and often a signature from a President or monarch or head of a collective legislative body or the clerk of that legislative body.

It also isn't uncommon for several people to have legislative ideas that are floating around in early draft form that are combined into a single final comprehensive piece of legislation with multiple chapters or parts that have distinct initial authorship.

Researching the legislative history of a single enactment.

Usually, it is possible to research the legislative history to learn who introduces a bill, who voted for it, who proposed amendments, and who decreed it into law. Often, this is done by researching the daily minutes of the legislative bodies and committees and sub-committees involved in the drafting of the law at different stages of the process in the archives of the legislative bodies involved in passing the legislation.

Sometimes this is done for close questions of interpretation of an ambiguity in the law if all other means of statutory interpretation are exhausted and the meaning of the law is still unclear. This is a painstaking and time consuming process. But since that rarely matters to the use of the law or its application by judges, this information is not generally included in a legislative codification used on a day to day basis.

Less commonly and reliably, but often more helpfully, media reports at the time the legislation was being considered discuss who was involved in the legislative process (and who opposed the legislation) and what their goals were with respect to the legislation. Likewise, media reports from the time a ballot issue is introduced until it is adopted can inform what the arguments for and against the legislation were important to the voters at the time that the ballot issue was considered which can inform its interpretation. Memoirs of people who had some involvement in the political process also sometimes disclose this information.

Researching the legislative history of a codified statute.

Also, many statutes were initially enacted in one version and then amended at various times with subsequent legislative enactments.

Most codifications show this part of the legislative history so that one can know what the statute said in the year to which it is being applied (which is often not the year in which the court makes the decision when one of looking at the validity of a marriage, or a real estate transaction, or whether a building was built in compliance with the building codes then in force, or the correct amount of taxes due in a given year, or the correct date of release from a criminal sentence).

Often, it is necessary to research the original legislative enactment documents to learn exactly how the effective date language is phrased, as this language is often omitted from a codification of statutes.

Laws are collective works that often have multiple authors.

Law do not have, in general, a single author, although minor, uncontroversial legislation that passed more or less unanimously without much debate, and very short laws that are never amended successfully, can sometimes have had a single dominant author.

Often, the process is that a legislator or constituent suggests an idea. A lobbyist or governmental staff person or lawyer or law professor, who remains nameless, often actually prepares the first draft (although there are rare cases where a non-legislator drafter is well known, such as in the case of the French Civil Code and the Field Codes in the United States and some of the "Uniform Laws" drafted by famous law professors and adopted by multiple U.S. states in the United States). Multiple legislators may introduce or sponsor a first draft. Additional amendments are made by others and voted on collectively before the final draft. And, then, the final draft becomes law after a final vote by a group of people and often a signature from a President or monarch or head of a collective legislative body or the clerk of that legislative body.

It also isn't uncommon for several people to have legislative ideas that are floating around in early draft form that are combined into a single final comprehensive piece of legislation with multiple chapters or parts that have distinct initial authorship.

Researching the legislative history of a single enactment.

Usually, it is possible to research the legislative history to learn who introduces a bill, who voted for it, who proposed amendments, and who decreed it into law. Often, this is done by researching the daily minutes of the legislative bodies and committees and sub-committees involved in the drafting of the law at different stages of the process in the archives of the legislative bodies involved in passing the legislation.

Sometimes this is done for close questions of interpretation of an ambiguity in the law if all other means of statutory interpretation are exhausted and the meaning of the law is still unclear. This is a painstaking and time consuming process. But since that rarely matters to the use of the law or its application by judges, this information is not generally included in a legislative codification used on a day to day basis.

Less commonly and reliably, but often more helpfully, media reports at the time the legislation was being considered discuss who was involved in the legislative process (and who opposed the legislation) and what their goals were with respect to the legislation. Likewise, media reports from the time a ballot issue is introduced until it is adopted can inform what the arguments for and against the legislation were important to the voters at the time that the ballot issue was considered which can inform its interpretation. Memoirs of people who had some involvement in the political process also sometimes disclose this information.

Researching the legislative history of a codified statute.

Also, many statutes were initially enacted in one version and then amended at various times with subsequent legislative enactments.

Most codifications show this part of the legislative history so that one can know what the statute said in the year to which it is being applied (which is often not the year in which the court makes the decision when one of looking at the validity of a marriage, or a real estate transaction, or whether a building was built in compliance with the building codes then in force, or the correct amount of taxes due in a given year, or the correct date of release from a criminal sentence).

Often, it is necessary to research the original legislative enactment documents to learn exactly how the effective date language is phrased, as this language is often omitted from a codification of statutes.

Laws are collective works that often have multiple authors.

Law do not have, in general, a single author, although minor, uncontroversial legislation that passed more or less unanimously without much debate can sometimes have a single dominant author.

Often, the process is that a legislator or constituent suggests an idea. A lobbyist or governmental staff person or lawyer or law professor who remains nameless often actually prepares the first draft. Multiple legislators may introduce or sponsor a first draft (although there are rare cases where a non-legislator drafter is well known, such as in the case of the French Civil Code and the Field Codes in the United States and some of the "Uniform Laws" drafted by famous law professors and adopted by multiple U.S. states in the United States). Additional amendments are made by others and voted on collectively before the final draft. And, then, the final draft becomes law after a final vote by a group of people and often a signature from a President or monarch or head of a collective legislative body or the clerk of that legislative body.

It also isn't uncommon for several people to have legislative ideas that are floating around in early draft form that are combined into a single final comprehensive piece of legislation with multiple chapters or parts that have distinct initial authorship.

Researching the legislative history of a single enactment.

Usually, it is possible to research the legislative history to learn who introduces a bill, who voted for it, who proposed amendments, and who decreed it into law. Often, this is done by researching the daily minutes of the legislative bodies and committees and sub-committees involved in the drafting of the law at different stages of the process in the archives of the legislative bodies involved in passing the legislation.

Sometimes this is done for close questions of interpretation of an ambiguity in the law if all other means of statutory interpretation are exhausted and the meaning of the law is still unclear. This is a painstaking and time consuming process. But since that rarely matters to the use of the law or its application by judges, this information is not generally included in a legislative codification used on a day to day basis.

Less commonly and reliably, but often more helpfully, media reports at the time the legislation was being considered discuss who was involved in the legislative process (and who opposed the legislation) and what their goals were with respect to the legislation. Likewise, media reports from the time a ballot issue is introduced until it is adopted can inform what the arguments for and against the legislation were important to the voters at the time that the ballot issue was considered which can inform its interpretation.

Researching the legislative history of a codified statute.

Also, many statutes were initially enacted in one version and then amended at various times with subsequent legislative enactments.

Most codifications show this part of the legislative history so that one can know what the statute said in the year to which it is being applied (which is often not the year in which the court makes the decision when one of looking at the validity of a marriage, or a real estate transaction, or whether a building was built in compliance with the building codes then in force, or the correct amount of taxes due in a given year, or the correct date of release from a criminal sentence).

Often, it is necessary to research the original legislative enactment documents to learn exactly how the effective date language is phrased, as this language is often omitted from a codification of statutes.

Laws are collective works that often have multiple authors.

Law do not have, in general, a single author, although minor, uncontroversial legislation that passed more or less unanimously without much debate, and very short laws that are never amended successfully, can sometimes have had a single dominant author.

Often, the process is that a legislator or constituent suggests an idea. A lobbyist or governmental staff person or lawyer or law professor who remains nameless often actually prepares the first draft (although there are rare cases where a non-legislator drafter is well known, such as in the case of the French Civil Code and the Field Codes in the United States and some of the "Uniform Laws" drafted by famous law professors and adopted by multiple U.S. states in the United States). Multiple legislators may introduce or sponsor a first draft. Additional amendments are made by others and voted on collectively before the final draft. And, then, the final draft becomes law after a final vote by a group of people and often a signature from a President or monarch or head of a collective legislative body or the clerk of that legislative body.

It also isn't uncommon for several people to have legislative ideas that are floating around in early draft form that are combined into a single final comprehensive piece of legislation with multiple chapters or parts that have distinct initial authorship.

Researching the legislative history of a single enactment.

Usually, it is possible to research the legislative history to learn who introduces a bill, who voted for it, who proposed amendments, and who decreed it into law. Often, this is done by researching the daily minutes of the legislative bodies and committees and sub-committees involved in the drafting of the law at different stages of the process in the archives of the legislative bodies involved in passing the legislation.

Sometimes this is done for close questions of interpretation of an ambiguity in the law if all other means of statutory interpretation are exhausted and the meaning of the law is still unclear. This is a painstaking and time consuming process. But since that rarely matters to the use of the law or its application by judges, this information is not generally included in a legislative codification used on a day to day basis.

Less commonly and reliably, but often more helpfully, media reports at the time the legislation was being considered discuss who was involved in the legislative process (and who opposed the legislation) and what their goals were with respect to the legislation. Likewise, media reports from the time a ballot issue is introduced until it is adopted can inform what the arguments for and against the legislation were important to the voters at the time that the ballot issue was considered which can inform its interpretation. Memoirs of people who had some involvement in the political process also sometimes disclose this information.

Researching the legislative history of a codified statute.

Also, many statutes were initially enacted in one version and then amended at various times with subsequent legislative enactments.

Most codifications show this part of the legislative history so that one can know what the statute said in the year to which it is being applied (which is often not the year in which the court makes the decision when one of looking at the validity of a marriage, or a real estate transaction, or whether a building was built in compliance with the building codes then in force, or the correct amount of taxes due in a given year, or the correct date of release from a criminal sentence).

Often, it is necessary to research the original legislative enactment documents to learn exactly how the effective date language is phrased, as this language is often omitted from a codification of statutes.

Laws are collective works.

Law do not have, in general, a single author, although minor, uncontroversial legislation that passed more or less unanimously without much debate can sometimes have a single dominant author.

Often, the process is that a legislator or constituent suggests an idea. A lobbyist or governmental staff person or lawyer or law professor who remains nameless often actually prepares the first draft. Multiple legislators may introduce or sponsor a first draft (although there are rare cases where a non-legislator drafter is well known, such as in the case of the French Civil Code and the Field Codes in the United States and some of the "Uniform Laws" drafted by famous law professors and adopted by multiple U.S. states in the United States). Additional amendments are made by others and voted on collectively before the final draft. And, then, the final draft becomes law after a final vote by a group of people and often a signature from a President or monarch or head of a collective legislative body or the clerk of that legislative body.

It also isn't uncommon for several people to have legislative ideas that are floating around in early draft form that are combined into a single final comprehensive piece of legislation with multiple chapters or parts that have distinct initial authorship.

Researching the legislative history of a single enactment.

Usually, it is possible to research the legislative history to learn who introduces a bill, who voted for it, who proposed amendments, and who decreed it into law. Often this is done by researching the daily minutes of the legislative bodies and committees and sub-committees involved in the drafting of the law at different stages of the process. And sometimes this is done for close questions of interpretation of an ambiguity in the law if all other means of statutory interpretation are exhausted and the meaning of the law is still unclear. This is a painstaking and time consuming process. But since that rarely matters to the use of the law or its application by judges, this information is not generally included in a legislative codification used on a day to day basis.

Less commonly and reliably, but often more helpfully, media reports at the time the legislation was being considered discuss who was involved in the legislative process (and who opposed the legislation) and what their goals were with respect to the legislation. Likewise, media reports from the time a ballot issue is introduced until it is adopted can inform what the arguments for and against the legislation were important to the voters at the time that the ballot issue was considered which can inform its interpretation.

Researching the legislative history of a codified statute.

Also, many statutes were initially enacted in one version and then amended at various times with subsequent legislative enactments.

Most codifications show this part of the legislative history so that one can know what the statute said in the year to which it is being applied (which is often not the year in which the court makes the decision when one of looking at the validity of a marriage, or a real estate transaction, or whether a building was built in compliance with the building codes then in force, or the correct amount of taxes due in a given year, or the correct date of release from a criminal sentence).

Often, it is necessary to research the original legislative enactment documents to learn exactly how the effective date language is phrased, as this language is often omitted from a codification of statutes.

Laws are collective works that often have multiple authors.

Law do not have, in general, a single author, although minor, uncontroversial legislation that passed more or less unanimously without much debate can sometimes have a single dominant author.

Often, the process is that a legislator or constituent suggests an idea. A lobbyist or governmental staff person or lawyer or law professor who remains nameless often actually prepares the first draft. Multiple legislators may introduce or sponsor a first draft (although there are rare cases where a non-legislator drafter is well known, such as in the case of the French Civil Code and the Field Codes in the United States and some of the "Uniform Laws" drafted by famous law professors and adopted by multiple U.S. states in the United States). Additional amendments are made by others and voted on collectively before the final draft. And, then, the final draft becomes law after a final vote by a group of people and often a signature from a President or monarch or head of a collective legislative body or the clerk of that legislative body.

It also isn't uncommon for several people to have legislative ideas that are floating around in early draft form that are combined into a single final comprehensive piece of legislation with multiple chapters or parts that have distinct initial authorship.

Researching the legislative history of a single enactment.

Usually, it is possible to research the legislative history to learn who introduces a bill, who voted for it, who proposed amendments, and who decreed it into law. Often, this is done by researching the daily minutes of the legislative bodies and committees and sub-committees involved in the drafting of the law at different stages of the process in the archives of the legislative bodies involved in passing the legislation.

Sometimes this is done for close questions of interpretation of an ambiguity in the law if all other means of statutory interpretation are exhausted and the meaning of the law is still unclear. This is a painstaking and time consuming process. But since that rarely matters to the use of the law or its application by judges, this information is not generally included in a legislative codification used on a day to day basis.

Less commonly and reliably, but often more helpfully, media reports at the time the legislation was being considered discuss who was involved in the legislative process (and who opposed the legislation) and what their goals were with respect to the legislation. Likewise, media reports from the time a ballot issue is introduced until it is adopted can inform what the arguments for and against the legislation were important to the voters at the time that the ballot issue was considered which can inform its interpretation.

Researching the legislative history of a codified statute.

Also, many statutes were initially enacted in one version and then amended at various times with subsequent legislative enactments.

Most codifications show this part of the legislative history so that one can know what the statute said in the year to which it is being applied (which is often not the year in which the court makes the decision when one of looking at the validity of a marriage, or a real estate transaction, or whether a building was built in compliance with the building codes then in force, or the correct amount of taxes due in a given year, or the correct date of release from a criminal sentence).

Often, it is necessary to research the original legislative enactment documents to learn exactly how the effective date language is phrased, as this language is often omitted from a codification of statutes.