There is very little compiled Texas Legislative history before 1973. Committee Debates and hearings were not recorded until 1973. Need to find sources of Texas legislative history before 1973? Want to avoid requesting a tape from the Texas Senate or House for post-1973 law? Try finding information on legislation by searching the Texas Bar Journal and the various law school journals. Valuable information can be gleaned from anecdotal accounts of behind-the-scenes negotiation over various provisions in an act.

The Index to Legal Periodicals located in the Reference Section at K33 .I362 is an invaluable paper resource (Volume I compiled in 1887). The subject index is the starting point for articles about Texas law. For example, in Volume I under the Texas entry are articles about the Annexation of Texas and the Texas Constitution.

The Texas Bar Journal located on the 2nd floor at K24 .E9, should always be consulted for articles on Texas legislation. Consult the yearly index or simply look for the annual legislative reviews in issues subsequent to the legislative sessions. The 2003 Legislative Update appeared in the July 2003 issue. Look for references to interest groups and bar section input.

HeinOnline, a "sliced bread" type database, contains .pdf versions of law school journals from their inception. Because this is a retrospective project, not all journals are included presently. However, the following Texas journals are searchable:

Baylor Law Review
South Texas Law Review
SMU Law Review (formerly Southwestern Law Journal)
Texas Hispanic Journal of Law and Policy
Texas Intellectual Property Law Journal
Texas International Law Journal
Texas Journal of Women and the Law
Texas Journal and Civil Liberties & Civil Rights
Texas Law Review
Texas Review of Entertainment & Sports Law
Texas Review of Law and Politics
Texas Southern Intramural Law Review (formerly Thurgood Marshall Law Review)
Texas Southern Law Review (formerly Thurgood Marshall Law Review)
Texas Tech Journal of Texas Administrative Law
Texas Tech Law Review
Texas Wesleyan Law Review

The HeinOnLine search engine is not ideal. The key to success is to limit the search to a few journals at a time and specify a narrow range of years. The Southwestern Law Review (SMU) in particular is an excellent source on Texas legislation. For example, in an article "The 1965 General Arbitration Statute of Texas" by Paul Carrington in Vol. 20, No.1, of the Southwestern Law Journal (1966), the legislative history of this Act is contained in an appendix.