House of Representatives

Standing and special committees are required to keep complete minutes of their proceedings. Minutes must include the time and place of each meeting, a list of members present, an accurate record of all votes taken, the date that notice of the meeting was posted, witness lists, if any, and other information as determined by the chair. Witness affirmation forms must be completed by anyone who addresses a committee at a meeting. Minutes must be filed with the House Committee Coordinator’s Office not later than three days after a substantive committee meets and not later than one day after a procedural committee meets.

Copies of minutes and witness affirmation forms from the current legislature are maintained by the House Committee Coordinator’s Office. Records from previous legislatures dating back to 1973 are maintained by House Video/Audio Services, which can provide notarized certification of a set of minutes on request.

Senate

The rules of the senate require standing committees and subcommittees to keep an accurate written record of their proceedings but do not specify the content of committee minutes. Minutes, which typically do not include testimony, must be filed with the Secretary of the Senate’s Office not later than seven days after a meeting is held. Committees may have certain proceedings transcribed. Copies of minutes are maintained by the Secretary of the Senate’s Office, and minutes and transcripts dating back to 1985 are maintained by Senate Staff Services.

Current and recent house and senate committee minutes can be accessed online through TLIS on the legislative intranet or TLO on the Internet. The Legislative Reference Library has copies of house and senate committee minutes from 1973 to the present.