RG-36. RECORDS OF THE LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE BUREAU
Legislation passed in 1909 originally provided for a Legislative Reference Bureau to be maintained by the trustees of the Pennsylvania State Library. A new bureau independent of the State Library was created in 1921, and it remained an agency of the executive branch with a director appointed by the governor. In 1923, it was abolished and a new Legislative Reference Bureau was established under the legislature with a director elected by the General Assembly. Though created to serve the members of the legislature, the heads of state agencies, and in some cases private citizens, the basic function of the Legislative Reference Bureau is the drafting of bills and other instruments needed by the General Assembly. The bureau acts as a legal advisor to the legislature and its members, prepares digests, analyzes bills, compiles and edits the Pennsylvania Code, Pennsylvania Bulletin and Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, and oversees publication of the Pamphlet Laws. Under the Commonwealth Documents Law passed in 1968, administrative regulations are not valid until filed with the bureau.
DOCUMENTS LAW SECTION
Rules and Regulations Issued by State Agencies Originally Filed with Department of State, 1931-1969. (7 cartons, 1 box) Arranged in chronological order by year and thereafter by rule/regulation number. Rules and regulations adopted by state agencies. Among these are two reports used in drafting legislation that document the African American experience in Pennsylvania: "Governor’s Commonwealth Conference on Higher Education, July 28, 1966" lists college presidents and administrators, including those at Lincoln University, Cheyney University, and Crozier Theological Seminary; and "Employment Practices in Pennsylvania, February 1953" is a report of the Governor’s Commission on Industrial Race Relations.