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A bill to clarify the rules governing venue, and for other purposes.

Public Law 104-34 · S. 532 · 104th Congress · began in the Senate

Signed by Bill Clinton (D) on Oct 3, 1995 · Law

Sponsor: Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT)

Cosponsors: None

Passage votes

  • HouseVoice vote
  • SenateVoice vote
Data notes

The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.

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Summary

The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.

Amends the Federal judicial code to provide that a civil action wherein jurisdiction is founded only on diversity of citizenship may, except as otherwise provided by law, be brought only in a judicial district in which any defendant is (currently, in which the defendants are) subject to personal jurisdiction at the time the action is commenced, or under other specified circumstances.

Committees

The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.

  • Judiciary Committee · House · markup by, referred to, reported bySubcommittee: Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet Subcommittee
  • Judiciary Committee · Senate · markup by, referred to, reported by
Data notes

A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.

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Timeline

From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 18 actions.

  1. Oct 3, 1995Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 104-34.
  2. Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
  3. Sep 22, 1995PresidentPresident · Presented to President.
  4. Sep 18, 1995FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  5. FloorFloor · On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote.
  6. FloorFloor · Mr. Moorhead moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
  7. Jul 11, 1995CommitteeCommittee · Reported by House Judiciary Committee
  8. Jun 7, 1995CommitteeCommittee · Markup by House Judiciary Committee
  9. May 16, 1995CommitteeCommittee · Reported by Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee
  10. CommitteeCommittee · Markup by Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee
  11. May 11, 1995CommitteeCommittee · Hearings by Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee
  12. Apr 24, 1995CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee
  13. Apr 3, 1995CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Judiciary Committee
  14. Mar 30, 1995FloorFloor · Passed Senate without amendment by Voice Vote.
  15. Mar 16, 1995CommitteeCommittee · Reported by Senate Judiciary Committee
  16. CommitteeCommittee · Markup by Senate Judiciary Committee
  17. Mar 10, 1995CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Senate Judiciary Committee
  18. IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the Senate
Data notes

Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.

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Official record

The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.