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Timeline · 30 entries

Timeline of official speech records

This timeline traces how official records of speech took their current form. The US Congressional Record began in 1873, after earlier series from 1789 1. Canada moved to its own reporting staff in 1880 and began televising the House in 1977 2,3. India protected press reports of Parliament from 1977 6. In the UK, the Procedure Committee recommended in June 2023 that all MPs be able to use the formal corrections system 7. Each entry carries its status.

Last checked 7 November 2026

  1. Historical

    US Congress debates first recorded

    Debates of the first Congresses are recorded in The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States, covering 1789 to 1824 1.

  2. Historical

    Register of Debates in Congress

    The Register of Debates in Congress covers 1824 to 1837 1.

  3. Historical

    Congressional Globe

    The Congressional Globe covers 1833 to 1873 1.

  4. In force

    UK Parliamentary Papers Act

    The Parliamentary Papers Act 1840 lets defendants show that extracts or abstracts of parliamentary papers were published bona fide and without malice 5.

  5. In force

    Congressional Record begins

    The Congressional Record, the official record of proceedings and debates of the US Congress, began publication in 1873 1.

  6. Historical

    Canada contract reporting

    Reporting of House of Commons proceedings in Canada began on a contract basis, overseen by a committee of the House 2.

  7. Historical

    Canada hires permanent reporters

    The Canadian House of Commons concurred in a report recommending that it hire its own permanent reporting staff 2.

  8. Historical

    Index to Canada's Debates

    The Canadian House of Commons agreed to produce an index to the Debates 2.

  9. Historical

    Hansard family reporting ends

    The Parliament of South Africa notes that the Hansard name comes from the printer L Hansard and his descendants, who compiled the reports until 1889 4.

  10. Historical

    Electronic Hansard idea in Canada

    A Canadian House committee report presented in 1972 discussed an electronic Hansard in which broadcast coverage would be a faithful record like the written Debates 3.

  11. Historical

    Canada approves broadcasting

    The House of Commons of Canada approved radio and television broadcasting on principles similar to those for the printed official reports 3.

  12. In force

    India press protection in force

    India's Parliamentary Proceedings (Protection of Publication) Act, 1977, Act No. 15 of 1977 dated 18 April 1977, is deemed to have come into force on 25 March 1977 6.

  13. In force

    Canadian House televised

    Television coverage of the proceedings of the House of Commons of Canada began 3.

  14. In force

    Captioned Question Period

    Question Period broadcasts in Canada began carrying English closed captioning and Quebec Sign Language 3.

  15. In force

    Canadian committee broadcasting made permanent

    The House agreed to continue audio broadcast of public committee meetings and televised committee coverage on a permanent basis 3.

  16. In force

    Congressional Record online

    GovInfo holds the daily Congressional Record from volume 140, which covers 1994, to the present 1.

  17. Historical

    Canada unrevised daily Journals

    The Canadian House began publishing unrevised daily Journals alongside revised weekly Journals. The weekly edition ended in September 2014 2.

  18. In force

    Hearings on GovInfo

    GovInfo holds select House and Senate hearings from the 104th Congress (1995-1996) forward 13.

  19. In force

    Bilingual CPAC signal across Canada

    The CPAC signal carrying House of Commons proceedings became available throughout Canada in both official languages 3.

  20. Historical

    UK corrections report

    The UK Commons Procedure Committee report Corrections to the Official Report was published. It led to a dedicated corrections page in Hansard 7.

  21. In force

    US transcript availability policy

    The Judicial Conference adopted a policy on electronic availability of transcripts of court proceedings 11.

  22. In force

    French captions for Question Period

    The House of Commons of Canada began providing French closed captioning for Question Period 3.

  23. In force

    Kenya Standing Orders adopted

    Kenya's National Assembly adopted its Standing Orders, now in a 7th Edition that incorporates later amendments and includes the 48 hour Hansard rule 10.

  24. Historical

    Canada ends weekly Journals

    The Canadian House of Commons stopped publishing weekly Journals as a separate publication, and revised daily Journals are published 2.

  25. Historical

    UK inquiry into correcting the record

    The UK Commons Procedure Committee launched an inquiry into the corrections system 7.

  26. Historical

    Correcting the record report

    The Procedure Committee published its Fourth Report of Session 2022-23, recommending that backbench Members join the formal corrections system 7.

  27. Historical

    Government welcomes wider corrections

    The Leader of the House of Commons wrote that the Government welcomed the expansion of the formal corrections process to all MPs 8.

  28. Announced

    Motion on corrections tabled

    An explanatory memorandum by the Clerk of the House said the Government had tabled a motion approving the Procedure Committee report 9.

  29. In force

    Rajya Sabha rules reprinted

    The Ninth Edition of the Rajya Sabha Rules of Procedure, containing the expunction rules, was reprinted 12.

  30. In force

    Latest Kenya sitting listed

    The National Assembly Hansard page listed the sitting of Thursday, 22 October 2026 as its latest entry when checked 14.

Notes

  • The UK motion of October 2023 is shown as announced. The outcome of the vote was not checked for this page 9.
  • Dates for older US debate series are given as years, as GovInfo states them 1.

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Sources

  1. GovInfo: Congressional Record
  2. House of Commons of Canada: Parliamentary Publications, The Parliamentary Record, House of Commons Procedure and Practice, Third edition, 2017
  3. House of Commons of Canada: Broadcasting Services, The Parliamentary Record, House of Commons Procedure and Practice, Third edition, 2017
  4. Parliament of South Africa: Hansard
  5. legislation.gov.uk: Parliamentary Papers Act 1840
  6. Tripura High Court: The Parliamentary Proceedings (Protection of Publication) Act, 1977
  7. House of Commons Procedure Committee: Correcting the record, Fourth Report of Session 2022-23 (29 June 2023)
  8. Leader of the House of Commons: Letter to the Chair of the Procedure Committee, Correcting the Record (Fourth Report of Session 2022-23) (20 July 2023)
  9. Clerk of the House of Commons: Explanatory memorandum on the motion relating to Procedure Committee Fourth Report, Correcting the record (20 October 2023)
  10. National Assembly of Kenya: Standing Orders (7th Edition)
  11. U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of North Dakota: Overview of Transcript Procedure (updated January 2026)
  12. Rajya Sabha Secretariat: Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States (Rajya Sabha), Ninth Edition (Reprint February 2024)
  13. GovInfo: Congressional Hearings (last updated 28 September 2026)
  14. The Kenyan Parliament Website: Hansard