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Legislative Intent Service, Inc. News & Notes

Some bill research does not include the Governor's file because at the time we researched the bill, the sitting Governor had not released his chaptered bill file. If the Governor's file is not included with this particular research, please contact our office (1-530-666-1917 or quote@legintent.com) and we will be happy to provide this file at no charge if it is available. Please Note: Governor files did not exist prior to 1943.

LEGISLATIVE INTENT SERVICE, INC.

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LIS NEWS AND NOTES

 
DOMA House Report:  We have uploaded for your review three documents relating to the case of United States v. Windsor, No. 12-307, which was heard before the U.S. Supreme Court on March 27, 2013.  This case challenged the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act [“DOMA”], which had been signed into law by President Bill Clinton on September 21, 1996, and included the following definition of “marriage” and “spouse”:

            “In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States, the word ‘marriage’ means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word ‘spouse’ refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife.”  [PL 104-199, page 2419 ]

During the oral arguments before the Court last Wednesday, Justice Elena Kagan asked attorney Paul Clement as he defended DOMA the following question regarding the legislative intent of the 1996 Congress which enacted the Act, quoting from the House Report accompanying DOMA:

                        JUSTICE KAGAN:  Well, is what happened in 1996 – and I’m going to quote from the House Report here – is that “Congress decided to reflect an honor of collective moral judgment and to express moral disapproval of homosexuality.”

                        Is that what happened in 1996?

                        MR. CLEMENT:  Does the House Report say that?  Of course, the House Report says that. . . .   

You can read the entire oral arguments transcript and the House Report that Justice Kagan referred to here . 

This is a noteworthy example of the important role that legislative history plays in presenting and winning your case, especially when the statute or act is controversial.  Even for statutory language that appears to be straight forward, we have had requests for legislative history research by counsel seeking to assert or defend a specific meaning ascribed the statute in question.

At LIS, we were not surprised to find that Justice Kagan researched the legislative history of DOMA and that she found the above interesting language in a House Report.  As researchers, we would have pulled this House Report and also the Congressional Record debates, related failed bills, abstracts of hearings, as well as other related committee reports, prints, and studies generated on the subject of the 1996 enactment, and we also would have looked at the Hawaii law that appears to have prompted the enactment of DOMA. 

 

California Proposition 8 of 2008:  Since 1974, LIS has provided legislative history research for stakeholders involved in newsworthy court cases.  One of our research projects a few years ago involved the California cases challenging Proposition 8.  As you know, the challenge to Proposition 8 was argued before the U.S. Supreme Court the day before the DOMA arguments were heard last week.  Whether the subject is simple or controversial, LIS always strives to provide legislative history and intent research that is as thorough, complete and objective as possible.  This way, as our clients plan their legal strategy and arguments, they will be well informed about the underlying facts, public policy, and intent of the legislative body that enacted any specific legislation.       

 

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