Detailed Legislative Reports Help
- Introduction
- Accessing Detailed Legislative Reports
- Creating a Detailed Legislative Reports Account
- Logging into Detailed Legislative Reports
- Date Default Settings
- Bill Summary (History of a Bill)
- Text of a Legislative Document
- Bills by Sponsor
- Roll Calls on a Bill
- Bills In and Out of Committee
- Bills by Citation
- Bill Status Report
- Companion Bill Report
- Selected Bill Tracking
- Floor Activity Reports (FAR) – House and Senate
- Topical Index
- Searching Documents
- Selected Step Reports
- Legislative Actions Report
- Statistical Reports
- Paper Hanging Report
- Leader Offline Report
- Customizing Report Views
- Exporting Report Data
Introduction
Detailed Legislative Reports enables the public to access information, track documents, and build reports. The processes enable you to track the status of legislation, to build personal reports, and to import the text of various legislative documents.
Accessing Detailed Legislative Reports
- From the Legislature’s home page at http://www.leg.wa.gov, click Bill Information.
- Click Detailed Legislative Reports.
Creating a Detailed Legislative Reports Account
Any Detailed Legislative Report can be generated without logging in to the system; however, you must be logged in to use certain features, such as Selected Bill Tracking, customizing views, changing the global default setting for reports, and adding bills directly from a report to a Selected Bill Tracking list.
- Click Register in the Detailed Legislative Reports banner.
- Type a username, one word at least six characters, then press Tab.
- Type your e-mail address, then press Tab.
- Confirm your e-mail address.
- Click Submit. You will receive an e-mail message that contains a computer-generated password. Open the message, highlight and copy the password.
- Return to the Login screen. Type your username and paste the password in the Password field.
- Click Log In. You will be prompted to change your password to something easier for you to remember. It must be at least six characters and can contain a mix of letters and numbers.
- Confirm your password.
- Click Save.
Logging into Detailed Legislative Reports
Any Detailed Legislative Report can be generated without logging in to the system; however, you must be logged in to use certain features, such as Selected Bill Tracking, customizing views, changing the global default setting for reports, and adding bills directly from a report to a Selected Bill Tracking list.
- Click Log In.
- Type your username, then press Tab.
- Type your password, then click Log In.
Date Default Settings
The date defaults in Detailed Legislative Reports can be set for the current session period or a previous biennium. You must log in to Detailed Legislative Reports to select a global default for the whole application. You may change the biennium on a per report basis back to 1991 without logging in.
To set the global date settings for the application that will affect all reports,
- Log in to the Detailed Legislative Reports system.
- Click Default Date and System Settings.
- Click the radio button for the desired biennium or session year.
- Click Save as Default.
* Detailed Legislative Reports will retain the default biennium settings until you go back into Default Date and System Settings and change it.
To set the date temporarily for an individual report,
- Open a report, such as Bills by Sponsor.
- Click the Biennium list button, then click the desired biennium or session year.
- Generate the report. This setting will be remembered for as long as you are working in the report. If you leave the report or close your browser, the setting will revert back to the global default.
Bill Summary (History of a Bill)
The Bill Summary page provides a convenient way to view all the information for a bill in one place. The Bill Summary page contains the visual depiction of the bill’s progress, brief description, sponsors, companion bill information, and links to the documents related to the bill, including all versions of the bill, amendments, bill reports, digests, and roll calls. The Bill Summary page also contains a narrative history of the bill.
- On the Detailed Legislative Reports home page, click the Bill Summary (History of a Bill)
- Enter the four-digit bill or the initiative number in the search field.
- Accept the Bill search default or click Initiative.
- If necessary, click the biennium list button and select a biennium from the drop-down menu.
- Click Search.
The resulting report will display the bill number and legislative biennium, title, sponsor(s), bill-at-a-glance as well as a full chronology of events, which contains links to common documents, such as official versions of the bill and bill reports. Click the desired link to access the type of document or report you wish to view.
Text of a Legislative Document
The Text of a Legislative Document link accesses all of the documents that match a bill or document name. For example, if you type 1000 in the Text of a Legislative Document search field, all of the documents related to House Bill 1000 appear, including bill, bill reports, amendments, etc. Other documents you can retrieve include RCWs, WACs, and Washington State Register documents. Links are provided on the main Text of a Legislative Document screen to the Attorney General Opinions, the Governor’s website for Executive Orders, and the OFM Fiscal Notes website.
Search for Documents
To find bill-related documents,
- On the Detailed Legislative Reports home page, click Text of a Legislative Document.
- If necessary, click the Biennium list button, then click the biennium for which you wish to retrieve the report.
- Type the number of the bill in the List bills and documents named like field, then click Find Documents or press Enter.
- The list of documents appears.
- Click a display link to view the document.
- Click the (HTM) link to display, save, print, or send the document as a browser-based HTML file.
- Click the (PDF) link to display the document in Adobe Acrobat. This option retrieves an official line-for-line, page-for-page copy of the selected document.
To find WACs or RCWs,
- On the Detailed Legislative Reports home page, click Text of a Legislative Document.
- If necessary, click the Biennium list button, then click the biennium for which you wish to retrieve the report.
- Click the RCWs or WACs radio button for the type of document you wish to retrieve, then type the RCW or WAC number in the Find
- Click Find Statute or press Enter.
- Click the HTM link to view the document.
To find a Prefiled or Introduction Report,
Click the applicable link in the Quicklinks navigation section on the left side of the main Text of a Legislative Document window.
Sorting Documents
Documents are displayed in ascending order by document name. To sort the result list by a different category, click the column heading. For example, to sort the result list by the date the document was created or edited, click the Date heading. The first click sorts the information in ascending order; the second click sorts it in descending order.
Viewing the Documents in Tree View
If you wish to view documents in relation to each other, such as viewing amendments on different versions of a bill, click the Tree View hyperlink. Click Normal View to return to the grid format.
Printing and Combining Documents
Printing the Results List
To print the list of documents, click Print List, then click File, Print from your browser.
Printing a Single Document
- Click either the HTM link to display the document in HTML format the browser or PDF to open the document in Adobe Acrobat.
- Click the Print button in the viewing application.
Printing Multiple Documents
You may select several documents on the list for printing or reviewing at one time. This is referred to as combining documents.
- Select the documents by clicking the check box next to each desired document, or clicking the check box in the green header bar to select all documents.
- Scroll to the end of the list and choose one of the following items:
- Combine to Browser (HTM) combines the selected documents and displays the resulting combination in HTML format in the browser.
- Combine to PDF (Official Copy) combines the selected documents in Adobe Acrobat and displays them in the browser. This option allows to combine for printing official, line-for-line, page-for-page accurate copies of selected documents.
- Click Combine to combine the documents in the selected manner.
Bills by Sponsor
The Bills by Sponsor report lists the legislation sponsored by the selected member, committee, or requester. The report displays the bill number, brief title, current status, veto information, last activity date, original sponsor, and companion bill for each bill sponsored by the selected member. You may view a list for all bills, primary sponsor, or secondary sponsor.
Running a Bills by Sponsor Report
- From the Detailed Legislative Reports home screen, click Bills by Sponsor.
- If necessary, click the Biennium list button, then click the biennium for which you wish to retrieve the report.
- Click the Select Sponsor Type radio button.
- Click the Type or Select a Sponsor field, then click the member’s last name from the drop-down list. You can also type the first few letters of the sponsor’s last name to filter the drop-down list if you wish.
- Indicate the type of sponsored bills you wish to view by clicking the Primary Bills, Secondary Bills, or All Bills radio button.
- Of those bills, indicate if you wish to show only bills with companion bills by clicking the Show only those bills by the selected sponsor that have companion bills check box.
- Click Find Bills By Sponsor.
Viewing Report Information by Action Date
You may customize your report to display or bold bills that have had action on or since a certain date using the date options feature on the report screen.
- With a Bills By Sponsor result list visible, click the Date Options
- Accept the Bold bills default to show the full list of bills and bold those that meet the specified date selection or click the list button and click List only bills to filter out the bills that don’t meet the specified date selection.
- Click in the date field and either type the date upon which you wish to base your criteria or click the date you wish to use from the drop-down calendar.
- Press Enter or click Update. You can return to the original view at any time by clicking Reset.
Sorting Bills
To sort the report by a different category, click the report heading. The first click sorts in ascending order; the second click sorts in descending order.
Report Links
- Click the bill number link to display the history and roll calls, if they exist, of the bill from the Bill Summary page.
- Click the Docs link to retrieve a list of documents related to the bill. Select from the links that appear in the resulting report.
- If the bill was vetoed or partially vetoed, click the V or PV next to the Date field to access the text of the veto message.
- Click the sponsor’s name link to go to the Bills by Sponsor page and print a report of all the bills that were also sponsored.
- Click the companion bill number link to display the history and roll calls, if they exist, of the companion bill from the Bill Summary page.
Printing and Combining Documents
Printing the Results List
To print the list of documents, click Print on the menu bar.
Printing Multiple Documents
You may select several bills on the list for printing or reviewing at one time. This is referred to as combining documents.
- Select the bills by clicking the check box next to each desired bill, or clicking the check box in the green header bar to select all bills.
- Scroll to the end of the list and choose one of the following items:
- Combine to Word (.docx format) combines the selected bills without page and line numbers in Microsoft Word format.
- Combine to Browser (HTM) combines the selected documents and displays the resulting combination in HTML format in the browser.
- Combine to PDF (Official Copy) combines the selected documents in Adobe Acrobat and displays them in the browser. This option allows to combine for printing official, line-for-line, page-for-page accurate copies of selected documents.
- Add to a Bill Tracking List adds the selected documents to a selected bill tracking list. This feature is only available if you are logged in to the Detailed Legislative Reports system.
* This feature is available for the current biennium only.
- Click Combine to combine the documents in the selected manner.
Roll Calls on a Bill
The Roll Calls on a Bill report displays all roll call votes taken on a bill on the floor. The report also displays the brief title, the chamber, the description of the item or motion under consideration, the item number, the transcript number, and date of the vote. The roll call lists the names of the members who voted yea, voted nay, were absent, or were excused. The report does not include roll call votes taken in committee.
* Not all bills have roll calls. Many bills do not advance far enough in the legislative process to come to a vote.
Running a Roll Call Report
- On the Detailed Legislative Reports menu, click Roll Calls on a Bill.
- If necessary, click the Biennium list button, then click the biennium for which you wish to retrieve the report.
- Enter the four-digit bill or the initiative number in the search field.
- Accept the Bill search default or click the Initiative radio button.
- If necessary, click the Biennium list button and select a biennium from the drop-down menu.
- Click Continue.
Report Links
- Click the bill number link to display bill history information from the Bill Summary page.
- Click the Docs link to display the bill documents from Text of a Legislative Document.
Printing a Roll Call Report
Click File, Print from the browser window.
Bills In and Out of Committee
The Bills In and Out of Committee report displays the bills currently in the selected standing committee, the bills that have been reported out of the committee, and the bills that have been removed from the committee, including bills placed in Rules Committee at the end of session. For bills in and out of Rules Committee, please use the Selected Step Reports.
Running a Bills In and Out of Committee Report
- On the Detailed Legislative Reports home page, click Bills In/Out of Committee.
- If necessary, click the Biennium list button, then click the biennium for which you wish to retrieve the report.
- Click the House or Senate radio button.
- Click a committee from the committee list box. To avoid scrolling, click in the Type or Select a Committee field and type a few letters of the committee name to move quickly to that committee, then click the committee from the list box to select it.
- Click the applicable radio button for the bills you wish to see.
- Click In to view the bills in the committee.
- Click Out to view the bills that have been reported out of the committee.
- Click Removed to view the bills that were removed, or discharged, from the committee by floor action or that were in committee in the opposite house at the end of session.
- Click In & Out to view both categories on the same report.
- Click All to view all bills that were referred to the committee. Bills in committee are listed first, then bills reported out of committee, and then bills removed from committee.
- Press Enter or click Continue to run the report.
Viewing Report Information by Action Date
You may customize your report to display or bold bills that have had action on or since a certain date using the date options feature on the report screen.
- With the result list visible, click the Date Options
- Accept the Bold bills default to show the full list of bills and bold those that meet the specified date selection or click the list button and click List only bills to filter out the bills that don’t meet the specified date selection.
- Click in the date field and either type the date upon which you wish to base your criteria or click the date you wish to use from the drop-down calendar.
- Press Enter or click Update Display. You can return to the original view at any time by clicking Clear Date Options.
Sorting Bills
To sort the report by a different category, click the report heading. The first click sorts in ascending order; the second click sorts in descending order.
Report Links
- Click the bill number link to display the history and roll calls, if they exist, of the bill from the Bill Summary page.
- Click the Docs link to retrieve a list of documents related to the bill. Select from the links that appear in the resulting report.
- If the bill was vetoed or partially vetoed, click the V or PV next to the Date field to access the text of the veto message.
- Click the sponsor’s name link to go to the Bills by Sponsor report and print a report of all the bills that member sponsored.
Printing and Combining Documents
Printing the Results List
To print the list of documents, click Print List on the menu bar, then click File, Print in the browser.
Printing Multiple Documents
You may select several bills on the list for printing or reviewing at one time. This is referred to as combining documents.
- Select the bills by clicking the check box next to each desired bill, or clicking the check box in the green header bar to select all bills.
- Scroll to the end of the list and choose one of the following items:
- Combine to Browser (HTM) combines the selected documents and displays the resulting combination in HTML format in the browser.
- Combine to PDF (Official Copy) combines the selected documents in Adobe Acrobat and displays them in the browser. This option allows to combine for printing official, line-for-line, page-for-page accurate copies of selected documents.
- Click Combine to combine the documents in the selected manner.
Bills by Citation
The Bills by Citation report provides a listing of bills that affect specified RCW citations. This report is used to follow changes to existing law proposed by current legislation. The report includes the RCW section, the bill number, the effect (amending, adding new, repealing, etc.), brief title, veto information, last activity date, and the current status of the bill.
Running a Bills by Citation Report
- On the Detailed Legislative Reports home page, click Bills by Citation.
- If necessary, click the Biennium list button, then click the biennium for which you wish to retrieve the report.
- If you wish to search a biennium other than the default, click the Biennium list button, then click the desired biennium.
- Enter the RCW.
- To get a list of bills that affect a specific title, enter the RCW citation with a period in the field, for example, 42.
- To get a list of bills that affect a specific chapter within that title, enter the title and chapter, for example, 42.30.
- To get a list of bills that affect a specific section, enter the title, chapter, and section number, for example, 42.30.075.
- Press Enter or click Continue.
Viewing Report Information by Action Date
You may customize your report to display or bold bills that have had action on or since a certain date using the date options feature on the report screen.
- With the citation result list visible, click the Date Options
- Accept the Bold bills default to show the full list of bills and bold those that meet the specified date selection or click the list button and click List only bills to filter out the bills that don’t meet the specified date selection.
- Click in the date field and either type the date upon which you wish to base your criteria or click the date you wish to use from the drop-down calendar.
- Press Enter or click Update Display. You can return to the original view at any time by clicking Clear Date Options.
Sorting Results
To sort the report by a different category, click the report heading. The first click sorts in ascending order; the second click sorts in descending order.
Report Links
- Click the citation link to display the RCWs.
- Click the bill number link to display the history and roll calls, if they exist, of the bill from the Bill Summary page.
- Click the Docs link to retrieve a list of documents related to the bill. Select from the links that appear in the resulting report.
- If the bill was vetoed or partially vetoed, click the V or PV next to the Date field to access the text of the veto message.
Printing and Combining Documents
Printing the Results List
To print the list, click Print List on the menu bar, then click File, Print from the browser.
Printing Multiple Documents
You may select several bills on the list for printing or reviewing at one time. This is referred to as combining documents.
- Select the bills by clicking the check box next to each desired bill, or clicking the check box in the green header bar to select all bills.
- Scroll to the end of the list and choose one of the following items:
- Combine to Browser (HTM) combines the selected documents and displays the resulting combination in HTML format in the browser.
- Combine to PDF (Official Copy) combines the selected documents in Adobe Acrobat and displays them in the browser. This option allows to combine for printing official, line-for-line, page-for-page accurate copies of selected documents.
- Click Combine to combine the documents in the selected manner.
Bill Status Report
The Bill Status report displays the status of a bill or range of bills, including links to related information such as bill history, bill documents, sponsor, and companion information.
Running a Bill Status Report
- On the Detailed Legislative Reports home page, click Bill Status Report.
- If necessary, click the Biennium list button and click the biennium you wish to search.
- Select a search period.
- For a range of bills, enter the first bill number in the Starting field, press Tab, then enter the last bill in the Ending field.
- Click the Run for All Bills check box.
- Click Find Bill Status.
Viewing Report Information by Action Date
You may customize your report to display or bold bills that have had action on or since a certain date using the date options feature on the report screen.
- With a report result list visible, click the Date Options
- Accept the Bold bills default to show the full list of bills and bold those that meet the specified date selection or click the list button and click List only bills to filter out the bills that don’t meet the specified date selection.
- Click in the date field and either type the date upon which you wish to base your criteria or click the date you wish to use from the drop-down calendar.
- Press Enter or click Update. You can return to the original view at any time by clicking Reset.
Sorting Bills
To sort the report by a different category, click the report heading. The first click sorts in ascending order; the second click sorts in descending order.
Report Links
- Click the bill number link to display the history and roll calls, if they exist, of the bill from the Bill Summary page.
- Click the Docs link to retrieve a list of documents related to the bill. Select from the links that appear in the resulting report.
- If the bill was vetoed or partially vetoed, click the V or PV next to the Date field to access the text of the veto message.
- Click the sponsor’s name link to go to the Bills by Sponsor page and print a report of all the bills that were also sponsored.
- Click the companion bill number link to display the history and roll calls, if they exist, of the bill from the Bill Summary page.
Printing and Combining Documents
Printing the Results List
To print the list of documents, click Print on the menu bar, then click Print or File, Print from the browser.
Printing Multiple Documents
You may select several bills on the list for printing or reviewing at one time. This is referred to as combining documents.
- Select the bills by clicking the check box next to each desired bill, or clicking the check box in the green header bar to select all bills.
- Scroll to the end of the list and choose one of the following items:
- Combine to Word (.docx format) combines the selected documents for viewing in Microsoft Word.
- Combine to Browser (HTM) combines the selected documents and displays the resulting combination in HTML format in the browser.
- Combine to PDF (Official Copy) combines the selected documents in Adobe Acrobat and displays them in the browser. This option allows to combine for printing official, line-for-line, page-for-page accurate copies of selected documents.
- Add to a Bill Tracking List adds the selected documents to a selected bill tracking list. This feature is only available if you are logged in to the Detailed Legislative Reports system.
* This feature is available for the current biennium only.
- Click Combine to combine the documents in the selected manner.
Companion Bill Report
The Companion Bill Report identifies bills that are identical or substantially similar at the time of introduction. The report includes the requested bill number and its companion, the brief title, the current status, veto information, and the date. By tracking the companion bill, it is possible to determine which version of the bill is moving through the Legislature.
Running a Companion Bill Report
- On the Detailed Legislative Reports home page, click Companion Bill Report.
- If necessary, click the Biennium list button, then click the biennium for which you wish to retrieve the report.
- Enter the four-digit bill number in the Enter the Bill Number
* You may use a wild card in this report. For example, if you type 101* in the bill number field, the report displays all bills from 1010 to 1019. If you place the wild card in the second position, for example, 10*, the report displays all bills from 1000 to 1099. To run the report for all bills, simply type * in the field. The report for all bills takes a few minutes to run.
- Press Enter or click Continue.
Viewing Report Information by Action Date
You may customize your report to display or bold bills that have had action on or since a certain date using the date options feature on the report screen.
- With the result list visible, click the Date Options
- Accept the Bold bills default to show the full list of bills and bold those that meet the specified date selection or click the list button and click List only bills to filter out the bills that don’t meet the specified date selection.
- Click in the date field and either type the date upon which you wish to base your criteria or click the date you wish to use from the drop-down calendar.
- Press Enter or click Update Display. You can return to the original view at any time by clicking Clear Date Options.
Sorting Bills
To sort the report by a different category, click the report heading. The first click sorts in ascending order; the second click sorts in descending order.
Report Links
- Click the bill number link to display the history and roll calls, if they exist, of the bill from the Bill Summary page.
- Click the Docs link to retrieve a list of documents related to the bill. Select from the links that appear in the resulting report.
- If the bill was vetoed or partially vetoed, click the V or PV next to the Date field to access the text of the veto message.
Printing and Combining Documents
Printing the Results List
To print the report, click the Print List button on the tool bar, then click File, Print from the browser.
Printing Multiple Documents
You may select several bills on the list for printing or reviewing at one time. This is referred to as combining documents.
- Select the bills in one of the following ways:
- Click the check box next to each desired bill; or,
- Click in the check box in the green header bar to select all bills.
- Scroll to the end of the list and choose one of the following items:
- Combine to Browser (HTM ) combines the selected bills and displays the resulting combination in html format in the browser.
- Combine to PDF (Official Copy) combines the selected bills in Adobe Acrobat and displays them in the browser. This option prints an official, line-for-line, page-for-page version of the selected bills.
- Click Combine to combine the bills in the selected manner.
Selected Bill Tracking
The Selected Bill Tracking report lets you create and maintain personal bill tracking lists. Each list is distinguished by the name you give it, and you access the list you want by its name.
On the Detailed Legislative Reports home page, click Selected Bill Tracking. Refer to the Help link in the Selected Bill Tracking feature to access the details in using this feature.
Floor Activity Reports (FAR) – House and Senate
The Floor Activity Report (FAR) became available during the 2003 session. It allows the public to follow legislation on the floor without having to be in the chamber. There are two versions of FAR: one for the House and one for the Senate.
Using the application, you can:
- Access various calendars, for example, the House Floor Calendar. Within the calendar, customers may access links to related bill information, roll call votes, sponsors, and amendments.
- See updates as actions are taken on the bills on the calendar.
- View the information on the House and Senate display boards. The boards may be opened in a separate window for viewing convenience through the day.
- Check floor activity for any day of session.
Accessing FAR
Click House Floor Activity Report or Senate Floor Activity Report , depending on which chamber’s activity you wish to see. Refer to the Help link in the FAR to access the details in using this feature.
Topical Index
The Topical Index is very useful when researching bills affecting a specific subject because it offers information by bill number or main subject heading. When you select a subject, you get a subset of the Topical Index prepared by the Code Reviser's Office. The indexers have developed a set of headings over the years. Most people do not know what those headings are, so alphabetical links have been included to display the headings.
* If you wish to search by word, phrase, or search string, use LegSearch.
You may generate two types of reports.
- A bill number search shows you the topics the indexer has assigned to a particular bill.
- A subject heading search (which you will probably use most often) displays the bills the indexer has assigned to the selected topic.
An alphabetical search displays the headings in that category and the bills that have been classified within those headings. Bills that are bolded have passed the Legislature.
Running the Topical Index Report
- On the Detailed Legislative Reports home page, click Topical Index.
- If necessary, click the Biennium list button, then click the biennium for which you wish to retrieve the report.
- Select the search method by clicking either the By Bill Number, the By Initiative, or the By Subject radio button.
-
Enter the search criteria.
- Enter the four-digit bill number or initiative number.
- Select the topic subject heading from the list box.
- Click the letter corresponding to the topic category you wish to review or click ALL to view the entire index.
- Press Enter or click Continue.
Report Links
- Click a topic link to view all bills within that topic.
- Click a bill number link to display the history and roll call information, if it exists, via the Bill Summary page.
- Click “See” or “See also” links to display related topics.
Printing a Topical Index Report
To print the list, click File, Print from the browser.
Searching Documents
Public LegSearch is the Legislature’s public online search system. With it you can enter keywords to search and display various types of legislative websites and documents. For example, you can search the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) for any section that contains references to salmon fishing in Puget Sound. Or, you may search the Legislature’s websites for links related to state parks.
Accessing LegSearch from Detailed Legislative Reports
Click Search (Documents) under the Searching heading. You can also access it from the Bill Summary (History of a Bill) page by clicking Search the full text of a bill . Refer to the Help link in LegSearch to access the details in using this feature.
Selected Step Reports
A bill moving through the legislative process passes through many steps. The Selected Step Reports lets you display lists of bills grouped by stages in the process. This is particularly useful when tracking legislation by major activity, such as bills on Second Reading in the House. The report includes the bill number, status title, current status, last action date, and original sponsor.
The headings under which the report choices fall are House, Senate, and All. “All” designates joint activity, such as bills in dispute between the houses.
Examples of report choices include the following:
Introduced |
Second Reading |
Suspension Calendar |
Passed House |
Passed Senate |
Concurrence |
In Dispute |
Passed Legislature |
Governor’s Actions |
Running a Selected Step Report
- On the Detailed Legislative Reports home page, click Selected Step Reports.
- If necessary, click the Biennium list button, then click the biennium for which you wish to retrieve the report.
- Click the radio button corresponding to the type of bills you wish to include in the report, such as House, Senate, or All Bills.
- Click a report title radio button. Some report names may not be familiar, so if you hover your cursor over a report title, a brief description will appear.
- Click Continue.
Viewing Report Information by Action Date
You may customize your report to display or bold bills that have had action on or since a certain date using the date options feature on the report screen.
- With a report result list visible, click the Date Options
- Accept the Bold bills default to show the full list of bills and bold those that meet the specified date selection or click the list button and click List only bills to filter out the bills that don’t meet the specified date selection.
- Click in the date field and either type the date upon which you wish to base your criteria or click the date you wish to use from the drop-down calendar.
- Press Enter or click Update Display. You can return to the original view at any time by clicking Clear Date Options.
Sorting Bills
To sort the report by a different category, click the report heading. The first click sorts in ascending order; the second click sorts in descending order.
Report Links
- Click the bill number link to display the history and roll calls, if they exist, of the bill from the Bill Summary page.
- Click the Docs link to retrieve a list of documents related to the bill. Select from the links that appear in the resulting report.
- If the bill was vetoed or partially vetoed, click the V or PV next to the Date field to access the text of the veto message.
- Click the sponsor’s name link to go to the Bills by Sponsor report and print a report of all the bills that were also sponsored.
Printing and Combining Documents
Printing the Results List
To print the list of documents, click Print List on the menu bar, then click File, Print from the browser.
Printing Multiple Documents
You may select several bills on the list for printing or reviewing at one time. This is referred to as combining documents.
- Select the bills by clicking the check box next to each desired bill, or clicking the check box in the green header bar to select all bills.
- Scroll to the end of the list and choose one of the following items:
- Combine to Browser (HTM) combines the selected documents and displays the resulting combination in HTML format in the browser.
- Combine to PDF (Official Copy) combines the selected documents in Adobe Acrobat and displays them in the browser. This option allows to combine for printing official, line-for-line, page-for-page accurate copies of selected documents.
- Click Combine to combine the documents in the selected manner.
Legislative Actions Report
The Legislative Actions Report displays the actions on bills in the order the actions took place on the floor. The report can bring you up to date on floor activities when you have been away.
Running a Legislative Actions Report
- On the Detailed Legislative Reports home page, click Legislative Actions Report.
- If necessary, click the Biennium list button, then click the biennium for which you wish to retrieve the report.
- Type the date for which you wish to review floor actions in the Date
- If you wish to designate a starting time for the report, press Tab and type the time.
- Click the radio button for the desired chamber (House, Senate, or Both).
- Click Continue.
* Please note that the end time for all reports is Midnight on the day you select. For example, if you enter 2/1/2020 as the date and 9:00 am as the start time, you will get a report listing all actions recorded between 9:00 am and Midnight on February 1, 2020.
Custom Sorting
Given the nature of the information displayed, sorting is not available for this report.
Report Links
- Click the bill number link to display the history and roll calls, if they exist, of the bill from the Bill Summary page.
- Click the Docs link to retrieve a list of documents related to the bill. Select from the links that appear in the resulting report.
Printing and Combining Documents
Printing the Results List
To print the list of documents, click Print List on the menu bar, then click File, Print from the browser.
Printing Multiple Documents
You may select several documents on the list for printing or reviewing at one time. This is referred to as combining documents.
- Select the documents in one of the following ways:
- Click the check box next to each desired document.
- Click in the check box in the green header bar to select all documents.
- Scroll to the end of the list and choose one of the following items:
- Combine to Browser (HTM) combines the selected documents and displays the resulting combination in html format in the browser.
- Combine to PDF (Official Copy ) combines the selected documents in Adobe Acrobat and displays them in the browser. This option prints an official, line-for-line, page-for-page version of the selected documents.
- Click Combine to combine the documents in the selected manner.
Statistical Reports
This report provides some general statistics for the session to date. It shows the main steps of the legislative process and the number of bills currently in that step.
Running a Statistical Report
- On the Detailed Legislative Reports home page, click Statistical Report.
- If necessary, click the Biennium list button, then click the biennium for which you wish to retrieve the report.
- Click the radio button for the desired chamber. (The default is Both.)
- Press Enter or click Continue.
Printing a Statistical Report
To print the list of documents, click File, Print from the browser.
Paper Hanging Report
The Paper Hanging Report displays those bills which are available for amendment. The term paper hanging means a bill that is not going to make a cut-off date is made into an amendment to a bill that will make the cut-off. The conditions under which this can happen are governed by the state constitution. The paper hanging bill must comply with the single theme rule for legislation. For example, a bill to amend the RCW governing salmon fishing could not be hung on a bill to amend the RCW governing teenage driver restrictions.
Running a Paper Hanging Report
- On the Detailed Legislative Reports home page, click Paper Hanging Reports.
- If necessary, click the Biennium list button and select the biennium you wish to search.
- Click the radio button for the desired bill status.
- House Bills out of House Committees
- House Bills on House 2nd Reading
- House Bills Passed the House
- House Bills out of Senate Committees
- House Bills on Senate 2nd Reading
- Senate Bills out of Senate Committees
- Senate Bills on Senate 2nd Reading
- Senate Bills Passed the Senate
- Senate Bills out of House Committees
- Senate Bills on House 2nd Reading
- Select a sort option for the report by clicking either the By Bill Number or Alphabetical by Title Text radio button.
- Press Enter or click Continue.
Viewing Report Information by Action Date
You may customize your report to display or bold bills that have had action on or since a certain date using the date options feature on the report screen.
- With a report result list visible, click the Date Options
- Accept the Bold bills default to show the full list of bills and bold those that meet the specified date selection or click the list button and click List only bills to filter out the bills that don’t meet the specified date selection.
- Click in the date field and either type the date upon which you wish to base your criteria or click the date you wish to use from the drop-down calendar.
- Press Enter or click Update Display. You can return to the original view at any time by clicking Clear Date Options.
Sorting by Bill Number
To sort the report by bill number, click the Bill heading. The first click sorts in ascending order; the second click sorts in descending order.
Report Links
- Click the bill number link to display the history and roll calls, if they exist, of the bill from the Bill Summary page.
- Click the Docs link to retrieve a list of documents related to the bill. Select from the links that appear in the resulting report.
Printing the Paper Hanging Report
To print the list of documents, click Print List on the menu bar, then click File, Print from the browser.
Printing Multiple Documents
You may select several bills on the list for printing or reviewing at one time. This is referred to as combining documents.
- Select the bills by clicking the check box next to each desired bill, or clicking the check box in the green header bar to select all bills.
- Scroll to the end of the list and choose one of the following items:
- Combine to Browser (HTM) combines the selected documents and displays the resulting combination in HTML format in the browser.
- Combine to PDF (Official Copy) combines the selected documents in Adobe Acrobat and displays them in the browser. This option allows to combine for printing official, line-for-line, page-for-page accurate copies of selected documents.
- Click Combine to combine the documents in the selected manner.
Leader Offline Report
The Leader Offline Report is a report that is generated after hours when the legislative activity has ended for the day. It displays the status of bills that have passed their chamber of origin.
Running a Leader Offline Report
- On the Detailed Legislative Reports home page, click Leader Offline Report.
- If necessary, click the Biennium list button, then click the biennium period for which you wish to retrieve a report.
- Type or click the date of the report you wish to view.
- Click Continue.
Report Links
- Click the bill number link to display the history and roll calls, if they exist, of the bill from the Bill Summary page.
- Click the Docs link to retrieve a list of documents related to the bill. Select from the links that appear in the resulting report.
- Click the sponsor’s name link to go to the Bills by Sponsor report and print a report of all the bills that were also sponsored.
Printing the Leader Offline Report
Click File, then Print from the browser.
Customizing Report Views
If a Detailed Legislative Report displays results in a grid format, such as Bills by Sponsor, Bills In and Out of Committee, or Selected Step Report, you can customize the report to hide and show fields if you have a Detailed Legislative Reports account.
Creating a new report view
- Login to Detailed Legislative Reports.
- From a report results screen, click the Report Views list button, then click Custom Views.
- Click Add View.
- Click in the Name field and type a name for the view.
- Click the plus (+) sign to add a report column to your report, for example, Bill or Date. Click the red X to remove a field if necessary.
- Once the fields have been added, click Save.
- Click Back to Report.
Changing report views
To change views, click Report Views, then click Standard View .
Deleting a report view
- Click Report Views, then Custom Views.
- Click the Delete button next to the view name.
- Click Yes to confirm deleting the view.
Exporting Report Data
If a Detailed Legislative Report displays results in a grid format, such as Bills by Sponsor, Bills In and Out of Committee, or Selected Step Report, you can export the data for use in other programs, for example, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, or as a text file.
- With report results on the screen, click Export Data , then click a file format.
- If prompted, click Allow to download the file.