Running a search
Running a simple search
Running an advanced search
Running a template search
Information sources
To run a search, follow these steps:
Click Search at the top of any page. By default, your search retrieves all bills and regulations. To select a different type of document, click Bills, Regulations, Legislative Materials, or Executive Materials and choose a document type from the menu that is displayed.
By default, the search template is displayed. To run a simple or advanced search, click Simple or Advanced.
Type your search in the text box. (If you use the template, you may be able to enter terms in more than one text box and restrict your search by date or jurisdiction.)
Click Search.
A simple search allows you to use plain English to retrieve relevant documents. You do not need to use complete sentences, quotation marks, or punctuation. For example, to retrieve documents relating to criminal background checks for employment, type a description such as criminal background check for employment in the text box. A simple search retrieves relevant documents based on how often your terms are used and where they appear in the document.
An advanced search allows you to use key terms and connectors specifying the relationship between those terms. You can specify that terms appear in the same sentence or paragraph. For example, to retrieve documents relating to the privacy of medical records, type a query such as patient /s record /p confidential! private privacy in the text box. An advanced search retrieves all documents that match your search criteria. For more information about advanced search connectors, click Advanced Operators at the Advanced search page.
A template search allows you to search using specific information, such as the bill name or the bill number, and to restrict your search by date or jurisdiction. Enter your search criteria using the text boxes and check boxes provided.
When you create your own search, you can also select the types of documents you want to search. If you do not select a document type to search, West's Capitol Watch searches all federal and state bills. To narrow your search to a single type of document, click Bills, Regulations, Legislative Materials, or Executive Materials and choose a document type from the menu that is displayed.
All Bills contains all available bills (introduced, amended, and enacted versions) from current and recently ended sessions of legislatures from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, as well as all versions of bills and resolutions introduced in the current U.S. Congress.
Federal Bills contains all versions of bills and resolutions introduced in the current Congress. Both the Alert and Track services are available for federal bills.
State Bills contains all available bills (introduced, amended, and enacted versions) from current and recently ended sessions of legislatures from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Both the Alert and Track services are available for state bills.
All Regulations contains documents from the Federal Register, such as hearing notices and proposed regulations from the last two years, and proposed and recently adopted rules and regulations from all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Federal Regulations contains documents from the Federal Register, such as hearing notices and proposed regulations, from the last two years. Only the Alert service is available for federal regulations.
State Regulations contains proposed and recently adopted rules and regulations from all 50 states and the District of Columbia for the last two years. Both the Alert and Track services are available for state regulations. Click here for state register update information.
Legislative Materials contains federal committee and conference reports, the Congressional Record, federal congressional testimony, state committee reports, state amendment text, state fiscal notes, and state committee schedules.
Federal Committee and Conference Reports contains all congressional committee reports, including reports on bills that did not become law, beginning with 1990. Both the Alert and Track services are available for federal conference and committee reports.
Congressional Record contains documents from the Congressional Record, which reports on the public proceedings of the United States Congress, beginning with 1985. The Track service is not available for the Congressional Record.
Federal Congressional Testimony contains documents pertaining to U.S. congressional committee hearings, with full coverage beginning with 1996. A document is a witness list or a transcript of an oral or written statements. The Track service is not available for federal congressional testimony.
State Committee Reports contains committee reports related to laws passed by state legislatures during current sessions. Both the Alert and Track services are available for state committee reports.
State Amendment Text contains amendment text documents related to laws passed by state legislatures during current sessions. Both the Alert and Track services are available for state amendment text.
State Fiscal Notes contains fiscal notes related to laws passed by state legislatures during current sessions. Both the Alert and Track services are available for state fiscal notes.
Committee Schedules contains committee meeting schedules for all states (except North Carolina) and the District of Columbia, during current sessions. Both the Alert and Track services are available for committee schedules.
Executive Materials contains presidential messages, governor’s messages, federal executive orders, and state executive orders.
Presidential Messages contains the text of press conferences, speeches, schedules, and formal announcements by the president and White House staff beginning with January 1993. The Track service is not available for presidential messages.
Governor’s Messages contains governor's messages, veto communications, and press releases related to laws passed by state legislatures during current sessions. The Track service is not available for governor’s messages.
Federal Executive Orders contains executive orders and related documents released by the Office of the President of the United States beginning with 1936. The Alert and Track services are not available for federal executive orders.
State Executive Orders contains executive orders for all states and the District of Columbia beginning with 2008. The Track service is not available for state executive orders.