Various commissions and committees of the North Carolina General Assembly produce reports that often times lead to the creation or modification of a bill. These reports are often the most useful place to look when determining legislative intent because reports often explain the rationale behind the bill and outline what issues the bill was designed to address.
Consult the following resource to locate relevant study reports:
North Carolina Legislative Library - Legislative Publications: The NC Legislature provides access to many reports online, helpfully organized by year or alphabetically. You can also keyword search by title, committee, author, or subject using the "Study Reports Query Program" at the bottom of the Legislative Publications page.
North Carolina Legislative Research Commission Reports (KFN7411.62 .L45): The law library holds select reports in its 3rd floor rare book room under the call number above. In addition, the Knapp Library at the UNC School of Government and the North Carolina Collection at UNC's Wilson Library have more extensive holdings. To locate individual reports, search the UNC Libraries catalog with keywords “North Carolina General Assembly” and “Legislative Research Commission.”
Legislative Commissions and Non-Standing Committees and Interim Studies (KFN7411.62 L453 L43): These reports list studies produced in the given year by the Legislative Research Commission and other commissions and committees. A online version of this publication is available through the North Carolina General Assembly for 1999 to present.
Legislative Research Commission Activities (KFN7411.62.L45 S85): These reports can be used to identify whether a Research Commission study report exists. Years 1981-2000 are available at the UNC School of Government Library, while scattered reports 1983 through 2012 are available online at the North Carolina General Assembly website.
