Official Summaries

This bill replaces the requirement for the Library of Congress to prepare hardbound versions of the Constitution Annotated and supplements with a requirement for the Library to instead prepare digital versions and publish them online.

The new requirement applies to the supplement after the Supreme Court term beginning October 2025 and all subsequent editions.

Current Full Text

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1234 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1234


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

               April 1 (legislative day, March 31), 2025

    Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and 
                             Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
To direct the Librarian of Congress to promote the more cost-effective, 
efficient, and expanded availability of the Annotated Constitution and 
   pocket-part supplements by replacing the hardbound versions with 
                           digital versions.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. REPEAL REQUIREMENT FOR CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE TO 
              PREPARE ANNOTATED CONSTITUTION AND SUPPLEMENTS IN 
              HARDBOUND VERSION.

    (a) Repeal.--The first section of Public Law 91-589 (2 U.S.C. 168) 
is amended--
            (1) by striking ``the Librarian of Congress'' and inserting 
        ``(a) subject to subsection (b), the Librarian of Congress''; 
        and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(b)(1) Upon the completion of the October 2031 term of the 
Supreme Court and upon the completion of each tenth October term of the 
Supreme Court thereafter, the Librarian of Congress shall have prepared 
a digital decennial revised edition of the Constitution Annotated, 
which shall contain annotations of all decisions theretofore rendered 
by the Supreme Court construing provisions of the Constitution, in 
place of the hardbound decennial revised edition of the Constitution 
Annotated described in subsection (a)(3).
    ``(2) Upon the completion of the October 2025 term of the Supreme 
Court and upon the completion of each subsequent October term of the 
Supreme Court beginning in an odd-numbered year (the final digit of 
which is not a 1), the Librarian shall have prepared a digital 
cumulative pocket-part supplement to the most recent decennial revised 
edition of the Constitution Annotated, which shall contain cumulative 
annotations of all such decisions rendered by the Supreme Court which 
were not included in the most recent revised edition of the 
Constitution Annotated, in place of the hardbound editions of the 
cumulative pocket-part supplement described in subsection (a)(4).''.
    (b) Ensuring Availability of Digital Versions.--Section 2 of Public 
Law 91-589 (2 U.S.C. 168a) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``All hardbound'' and inserting ``(a) All 
        hardbound''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(b)(1) The digital decennial revised editions of the Constitution 
Annotated prepared under subsection (b)(1) of the first section of this 
Joint Resolution and the digital cumulative pocket-part supplements 
prepared under subsection (b)(2) of the first section of this Joint 
Resolution shall be available at a public website of the Library of 
Congress.
    ``(2) The Librarian of Congress shall ensure the continuing 
availability of the documents referred to in paragraph (1) to Congress 
and the public.''.
    (c) Repeal of Additional Printing Requirements.--
            (1) Mandatory printing of additional copies.--Section 3 of 
        Public Law 91-589 (2 U.S.C. 168b) is amended--
                    (A) by striking ``There shall be printed'' and 
                inserting ``(a) There shall be printed''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following new 
                subsection:
    ``(b) Subsection (a) does not apply after completion of the October 
2025 term of the Supreme Court, and the Librarian of Congress shall 
provide the decennial revised editions of the Constitution Annotated 
and the cumulative pocket part supplements prepared under this Joint 
Resolution exclusively in a digital format available at a public 
website of the Library of Congress.''.
            (2) Printing of additional copies pursuant to concurrent 
        resolution.--Section 4 of Public Law 91-589 (2 U.S.C. 168c) is 
        repealed.

            Passed the House of Representatives March 31, 2025.

            Attest:

                                             KEVIN F. MCCUMBER,

                                                                 Clerk.