The Journalist's Toolbox: State/Local Government

Recent Additions to This Section
(This section features sites added to the page in the last few weeks.
Each link is cross-referenced on the page in its proper category.)

Lewis Mumford Center: Census Research
This site lists some census research analysis that is used by many reporters, especially those covering census information. It is run by Merci Miglino of the Lewis Mumford Center at the Research University at Albany, SUNY.

Gov Browser
Search Federal, State, Local and Tribal government websites.

Ersys
A comprehensive collection of demographic, lifestyle, and economic data covering over 2,600 U.S. cities portrayed as thematic maps, informative reports, detailed tables and colorful charts --- all freely available.

Medical Privacy State Laws

News365.com: States News and Info.

State Election Offices Directory
Many of these offices contain live election return sites/databases.

Follow the Money
Track who is giving money to state candidates. From the National Institute on Money in State Politics.

Stateline.org

StateNet.com
Links to government sites in all 50 capital cities.

Public Information Databases
Organized by state, this site offers links to more than 4,300 government databases.

The Public i
A super investigative site from the Center for Public Integrity. Features studies, links to stories, commentaries and more.

The National Conference of State Legislatures
A great all-in-one site: links, directories, publications, databases, and consulting services.

50StatesOnline.org
Research state government on this site from the Center for Public Integrity. Search conflict of interest databases and disclosure forms for your state government leaders. Also find contact information; lawmaker disclosure penalties and voting procedure: gifts, trips, honoraria laws, etc; public interest contacts in your state, Web links, etc.

50StatesOnline.org's Conflict of Interest Map
Clickable map for searching your state legislature for conflicts of interest.

State Lawmaker Outside Interest Searchable Database
Similar to the previous site, only in database form.

State Lawmaker Disclosure Forms 1999
View copies of the outside interests forms lawmakers filed.

ActivistCash.com
A great site. Roots out the funding sources of the most notorious anti-consumer groups. It continually adds profiles on the first of every month.

Public i's State Soft Money Contributions
Soft money: Total contributions given to state political party committees in the 1999-2000 election cycle The sites is a joint project of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Public Integrity and Center for Responsive Politics, and the Montana-based National Institute on Money in State Politics. It's the first attempt to calculate the large amounts of cash flowing in and out of state and local party committees. Example: Political parties registered at the state level raised more than $600 million during the 2000 elections.

StateLocalgov.net

National Center for State Courts
A database from the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys.

Prairie Net: Full-Text State Statutes and Legislation

National Center for State Courts: Listing of Courts

Campaign Finance: Annenberg Public Policy Center, University of Pennsylvania (Issue Ads)

Campaign Study Group

PoliticalMoneyLine

MoJo 400

USGenWeb
This non-profit Web site provides links to Web sites for every county and state in the United States.

State Legislative Sites
Links to all of them.

State Laws Database
Searchable index of state laws and legislation for all 50 states.

State Databases
Intended for legal research, but links to major directories and databases.

Stateline.org
A news service operated by the Pew Center on the states produces in-depth stories on state-based public policy issues.

Governing.com
Features a report card for America's 40 largest counties.

CapitolBeat.org
Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors is an organization for statehouse reporters around the country.

State Government Telephone Directory

State Agencies Telephone Directory

State Government Sites
A quick-reference listing of state government sites.

U.S. Census: Fastest-Growing Counties
Fastest-growing counties between Census Day, April 1, 2000, and July 1, 2001. Overall, 55 percent of all 3,141 U.S. counties grew since April 1, 2000.

The Center for Public Integrity: Special Interest Politics in State Legislatures
Articles and books on groundbreaking investigation into this area. Example: One center study revealed lobbyists spent at least $570 million impacting legislation.

National Governors Association
Anything you want to know about the nation's governors and policy statements on state and federal issues.

Policy.com
This non-partisan site covers every side of a topic with an easy-to-use index.

StateScape.com
This free database allows you to track legislation across states. It takes some time to use, though.

College Affordability: State Rankings
A list from the Lumina Foundation. See how your state ranks.

Progress & Freedom Foundation and the Center for Digital Government: State Digital Rankings
See where your state ranks in offering online services.

State Departments of Transportation

American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators
Sets standards for getting state driver's licenses.

Locate State Government Sites
A search engine and image map takes you to official state sites.

Statelocal.gov
Clearinghouse of state and local government sites.

City.Net
Links to cities information worldwide.

Thomas.loc.gov
Local government site.

Statenet.com

North Carolina State Government Insider
Good for tracking the tobacco issues.

USACitylink.com
Includes some links to city government information. Some read like travel brochures.

GotoCity.com
Organized by state and city, explore data on many U.S. communities.

Metroscope.com
More cities information.

Piperinfo.com/state/states.html
Clearinghouse of state and local government sites.

State Licensing Boards
Search a great national database of state licensing boards.

Search Databases
Crime, government, school districts and more. Updated with new additions on front page.

Current State Cases
Track them through these links to state court sites.

Law.com: Law News by State

National Association of Counties

Pension Fund News: State Pension Funds
Check your state's pension fund.

Census Factoid Central
Get the statistical lowdown on where you live with a few mouse clicks at State and County QuickFacts.

Center for Policy Alternatives/StateAction.org
Washington think tank.

Institute for State Studies

American University Campaign Finance Download Site

News365.com: States News and Info.

Gay Census Totals
Allows you to eliminate pop-up banner ads on your browser.

Civic.com
An e-government site that provides tools and links for federal, state and local government.

Municipal Mall
Claims to be a meeting place for municipal and provincial leaders, as well as people who are studying government. Has a newsletter, events and discussion pages.

Chamber Of Commerce
A central resource for community, tourism and business information.

Index of State Malpractice Laws

Emergency Planning Guidance for Local Government

National Association of Secretaries of State

Wall Street Journal City Profiles
Click on a city name to review WSJ's exclusive, in-depth report, including taxation and cost-of-living data, education resources, arts and recreation activities, crime statistics and additional sources of information.

Center for Public Integrity: Watchdogs on Short Leashes
An interesting December 2001 study on how many state legislatures have ethical oversights.

Government Finance Officers Association
This association offers background on public-sector finance and accounting.

Sprawlwatch.org
This watchdog group offers a clearinghouse of stories on urban sprawl and the legislation to stop it. Hs a state-by-state summary of how state open space legislation is dying on the vine from budget cuts.

Other Urban Sprawl Web Sites
Dozens of great links to organizations and activist groups.

Stateserv: Health Policy
Source for state legislative information on policy and analysis on select issues, such as health and immigration.

RootsWeb U.S. Town and County Database
Search for city and county sites.

Public Library Rankings.
The annual ranking of 9,000 public libraries is available in a spreadsheet copy for journalists. A good newsroom training tool for spreadsheets.

What Reporters Need To Know About Municipal Budgets
Includes terms, and it walks you through the process.

ePodunk.com
This site profiles every county and more than 25,000 communities across the country. The site was compiled by journalists formerly with the Detroit Free Press, the New York Times and American Demographics magazine. The site uploads new data daily, including census, EPA, FDIC, FEC, USGS, etc.

The Virginia Public Access Project
A searchable database of campaign contributions for all state elected offices over a period of years You can search by candidate name, donor name, election district, vendors paid for expenditures. It's run by former Virginian-Pilot reporter David Poole.

National Gambling Impact Study
A government study on gambling that includes all research, recommendations, e-mail contacts and some news regarding the study. Also includes a state-by-state list of gambling laws.

North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries

North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries: Spending State-by-State

Per-Capita Lottery Sales

Gambling Research Links

Links to All U.S. Lottery Sites

Listing of Global Lotteries

NRA: State Gun Laws
Use this image map to check gun laws state by state.

Medical Privacy State Laws

Roll Back the Beer Tax
Now this is the kind of lobbying I want to cover!

City Mottos List

State Mottos List

50States.com: State Mottos

AngelFire: Real State Mottos

City of Chicago information server
A guide to Chicago city government. Good for finding offices, phone numbers, department heads, census info., etc. See also Chicago Chamber of Commerce.

Cook County information server
County offices, demographics, meeting schedules, etc.

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