These capabilities are available using the LegisWeb Professional application. They may not be available with the free search capability provided on the Basic LegisWeb
Still have a question?
Retrieve a specific document using LegisWeb Search?- Back to top
Simply type the name of the document you are interested in into the 'Search Terms' text box. LegisWeb will recognize a documents name in a number of ways. Some examples:
- 2001 Assembly Bill 11 -- Retrieves a specific session year.
- Assembly Bill 11 -- Retrieves the bill from the current session year.
- AB 11 -- Common abbreviations are supported.
- AB11 -- Spaces can be omitted if doing so does not cause ambiguity.
- AB11 Version 98 -- Retrieves a specific version.
- AB11 Section 2 -- Retrieve a specific bill section only.
- 2001 Chapter 178 -- Statutes are supported.
- EVID Section 52 -- As are codes.
Retrieve a specific version of a document?- Back to top
California numbers bill version starting at 99 for the introduced version and then decrementing each time the document is amended or modified. If you look at the published documents you will see this version number in the lower right of the first page. In order to access a specific version of a document, follow the measure number with 'V##', where ## is the version number you are interested in. For instance, to access version 97 of Assembly Bill 11, enter AB11 V97 in the text entry box. By default, we always give you the most recent version of the document if you do not specify a version number.
Find how a bill will change the law?- Back to top
Open the bill within the LegisWeb dashboard. Navigate to each bill section and click on the 'Compare' button. For current session year bills, you will find a entry 'As Amends the Law'. Selecting this entry will show you a comparison of the text in the bill section compared to the portion of the law that the bill section is to affect. For earlier session years, we do offer the same comparison, but the comparison does not reflect a proposed change, it merely reflects how the wording in the bill section differs from the current law.
Find all the changes that a house is making to a bill?- Back to top
Open the last version of the bill that was affected by the house you are interested in. This shows the text as it stood when it departed that house. Then, using the comparison buttons, compare that wording to the wording in bill as it was introduced or left the other house, whichever event was most recent.
Find all occurences of one or more words in a document? - Back to top
Open the document into the LegisWeb. Find the text entry box in the upper left of the LegisWeb application - accompanied by a small magnifying glass icon. Enter the words that you wish to highlight in this box. The text will be highlighted in the document when you click on the magnifying glass or move the text input focus out of the highlighter text box. While you can enter multiple words, be aware that all words are treated separately. There is currently no way to specify that that only occurences of a multi-word text string are to be highlighted. Also, all words are treated as case-insensitive and punctuation is ignored.
Find all the bills authored by a specific legislator?- Back to top
Go to the Lookup pane in the LegisWeb application and select 'Search' from the popup menu. Then select the measures tab. In here you will find the 'Search:' drop down that allows you to specify to search either the bill authors or the body text. Select 'Authors' and enter the name of the author into the search terms text box above the combo box. After selecting the session year (or All) you are interested in, click on the 'Search' button to display a list of all the bills authored or coauthored by the legislator you entered.
Create a web feed from search results?- Back to top
After you have run a search within the LegisWeb application, you will see a 'Save Search' option below the results. Clicking on this link will cause the search criteria to be saved as a 'Search Feed'. A search feed is similar to a news feed except that the information that is listed are the results of a search rather than news stories. You can view and manage your search feeds from your home page or list them in the Lookup pane. Note that this feature is not available from the free LegisWeb search capability on the main Webiste
Track a bill?- Back to top
Open the bill you are interested in tracking into the LegisWeb application. At the top of the bill you will see a check box to track this bill in your 'Tracked Bills' list. Click on this check box to add the bill to your 'Tracked Bills'. You may also optionally add specify whether you support or oppose this bill.
Stop tracking a bill?- Back to top
You have two options. First, you can display the bill again in the main window and uncheck the 'Track' check box. Alternatively, you can view your 'Tracked Bills' list in your homepage and remove the item by selecting the corresponding check box and then clicking on the 'Remove Selected' button.
Tell when a bill was last updated?- Back to top
The bill list shown on your home page shows the date of the last update (last entry in the recorded history). In addition, items that have changed within the last week are highlighted in yellow to emphasize the recent update.
Interpret the bar below each bill in my 'Tracked Bills' list- Back to top
Each block, reading from left to right, represents a completed step in the process of how a bill becomes a law. Blocks shown in pink represent steps in the Senate while blocks shown in green represent steps in the Assembly. Typically a bill is read 3 times in each house and a vote follows the 3rd reading. If the bill passes the introducing house, it progresses to the opposite house for the same cycle. If the opposite house amends the bill, it returns to the introducing house once if passes the opposite house for their concurrence of the changes. Once a bill has passed both houses, and any changes concurred, then it is enrolled and sent to the Governor for approval. If the Governor approves the bill, then it is chaptered. (In very rare instances, the legislature may overrule a governors veto). If a bill is currently in a committee, then we will show the committee name in beige .
Link to a document?- Back to top
Once you have found the document (or portion thereof) you are interested in, click on the web link icon in the upper right hand corner of the LegisWeb dashboard - next to the highlighter. A web URL to the document will be placed into the clipboard for you to paste into another application when creating the link. To test the link, simply paste it into a browser address bar.
Send a link to a colleague that does not have a subscription?- Back to top
The link provided by the web link icon points to a version of the file that can be accessed without a subscription. Of course, the features we provide with a subscription will not be available, but the document itself will be accessible - nicely formatted.
Print a document?- Back to top
Once you have found the document (or portion thereof) you are interested in, click on the printer icon in the upper right hand corner of the LegisWeb dashboard - next to the highlighter. The document will open in a separate window with a printer friendly format - removing the surrounding decoration and rendering the text in black to save your color cartridge. Changes and annotations are still rendered in color though. Use the print settings in the browser to further control how the document is printed.
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