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Project Rationale

The Pennsylvania General Assembly provides the text of bills, resolutions and other legislative measures from 1971 through the current legislative session in an electronic format. See Pennsylvania General Assembly legislation - opens in a new tab. Legislative measures that predate the 1971-1972 legislative session are generally only available as print format documents on various media (paper, microfilm, etc.).

The Legislative Reference Bureau's library's microfilm holdings include rolls of Pennsylvania Senate and House of Representatives bills, resolutions and other legislative measures dating from 1816. Making this legislation and related legislative history information available in a digital format will expand its access to the public, particularly scholars, genealogists and other researchers.

Project Goals

The goals of the project are to:

  • Create a permanent digital repository of pre-1971 bills, resolutions and other legislative measures of the Pennsylvania Senate and House of Representatives by:
    • Capturing microfilmed pages in image format.
    • Creating PDF files with hidden text (OCR) from the image files.
    • Publishing the PDF files on the Legislative Reference Bureau's website.
    • Maintaining databases to provide keyword searching and other finding aids.
    • Continuing to maintain the master microfilm rolls in secure, offsite, environmentally controlled storage.
  • Create a permanent digital repository of legislative history publications from 1915 through 1970 by:
    • Capturing pages in image format.
    • Creating PDF files with hidden text (OCR) from the image files.
    • Publishing the PDF files on the Legislative Reference Bureau's website.
    • Maintaining databases to provide keyword searching and other finding aids.
  • Provide single-point, worldwide public access to pre-1971 bills, resolutions and other legislative measures and legislative histories of the Pennsylvania Senate and House of Representatives via this website.
Acknowledgments

Sincere appreciation is expressed to the following entities:

  • Pennsylvania Senate Library.
  • Pennsylvania House of Representatives Archives.
  • Pennsylvania Legislative Data Processing Center.
  • UniqueSource Products and Services.
  • Beaver County Rehabilitation (BCRC).