Abstract
Shadowing a single bill can be a challenge, but the process becomes more intricate with each piece of legislation that is added to your watchlist. Strategy isnecessary to keep current on specific types of bills (e.g., religious liberty bills, marijuana legislation, equal pay legislation) or to follow the national picture in a specific area of law (e.g., domestic violence, environmental law, animal law). Variance in legislative sessions between states, ensuring relevance to the bill-type or topic being followed, and finding the right keywords are just some of the hurdles for legislative tracking. Westlaw offers its efficient 50 State Surveys, but they do not undergo real-time updates, and they aren’t practical to produce for all facets of law. Lexis has a wonderful product (from what I hear) called State Net that will do the tracking for you, but it may not suit every budget. There are free resources that can
be employed, but it is an investment of time to keep an eye on bills of interest.