The Pennsylvania Constitution is the foundation of our state government. Our first Constitution was adopted in 1776 and was a framework for the U.S. Constitution, which did not take effect until 1789.
The Laws of Pennsylvania contain laws enacted as amendments to the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, the official statutory codification established by the General Assembly under the act of November 25, 1970 (P.L.707, No.230). These laws have been incorporated into a separate official publication since 1975.
The Laws of Pennsylvania, also referred to as the Pamphlet Laws, have been recognized as official law since December 1, 1801. Acts are numbered by the Department of State and published by the Legislative Reference Bureau as separate official documents known as slip laws before publication in bound editions as the Laws of Pennsylvania.
This webguide, created by Widener University's law librarians, provides a comprehensive list of Pennsylvania related legal resources available on the web and describes how to determine a legislative history. A legislative history is the chronology of legislative action. To trace this legislative action, a researcher must uncover the sources of legislative information that lead to a bill's passage.
Westlaw is our major legal database that includes secondary and primary legal sources. It contains statutes, codes, arbitrations, and case law. Westlaw also includes the legal encyclopedias, journals, treatises, and law reviews. In addition to legal materials, it also has extensive collections of national and state/local news sources, as well as regional business magazines.
