Legislative Research Services


Legislative Research Links

TOP 10
Other States
Laws/Legal Links
Federal Information
Alaska
Policy and Politics
News
Specific Subjects (criminal/civil justice, environment, health/social services, internet, native/rural, oil, taxes, data sources, state finances/budgets)


TOP 10+
(In no particular order)

For general searching, we find Google most useful, but because search engines yield slightly different results, we recommend that you try several.

RefDesk.com is loaded with useful links on numerous subjects.

National Conference of State Legislatures site provides comprehensive information and research on critical state issues, informative publications, and a unique legislative information database. Staff and legislators should register to obtain access to information unavailable to the general public. Although the NCSL site itself is not particularly user-friendly, much of the information it contains is highly relevant to state lawmakers; links to many other useful sites.

Legal Information Institute at Cornell University is an excellent legal reference tool. A great site for searching the U.S. and state constitutions and codes, it also connects to federal and state regulations and court opinions. This site even contains legal briefs filed in the Supreme Court.

CONGRESS.GOV is from the Library of Congress and offers the most comprehensive information on federal legislative proceedings, including pending and past legislation, the congressional record, and congressional committees. Links to other useful sites.

USA.gov is designed to be a centralized place to find information from local, state, and U.S. government agency websites.

Alaska State Library allows access to several great full-text periodical databases available to all Alaskans (made possible through work by the University of Alaska, the State Library, and libraries statewide with funding support from the State Legislature).  Click on the following link to go directly to the Alaska State library's A-Z Journal Finder.

National Center for State Courts is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to providing service to the state courts. The NCSC web site includes links to state courts in all 50 states as well as federal and international courts.

Council for State Governments, a region-based forum that fosters the exchange of insights and ideas to help state officials shape public policy.

U.S. Census Bureau is the preeminent collector and provider of timely, relevant, and quality data about the people and economy of the United States. With extensive survey resources and up-to-date statistics, this site provides a general view and comprehensive study of the United States' social and economic conditions.

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GENERAL RESEARCH TOOLS

Alaska Library Resources

Alaska State Library (ASL)

SLED (Statewide Library Electronic Doorway)

Digital Pipeline - access public policy journals online

Alaska State library's A-Z Journal Finder

ASL Information Alert System (available to state employees only)

Juneau Public Libraries

Reference
List of Alaska Legislative Abbreviations and Acronyms
RefDesk
Britannica.com
Wikipedia.org
Onelook.com – online dictionary

OTHER STATES

State Governments & Laws
CountyOffice.org (Local government resources and services available in each state)
Constitutions, Statutes, Codes (Cornell U)
National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL)
National Center for State Courts
Council of State Governments
State & Local Governments (Lib of Congress)
National Governors' Association
State Law Links (MA Social Law Library)
National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws
National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO)

LAWS / LEGAL LINKS

Laws  (see also Other States & Federal Information)

Legal Information Institute (Cornell)
Library of Congress
U.S. Courts
Find Law
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
Federal Register (1994 to present)
United States Code
9th Circuit Court of Appeals Opinions
U.S. Courts
Supreme Court Opinions

FEDERAL INFORMATION

General
USAgov.gov
U.S. Government Printing Office
Congress.gov – bill tracking and congressional records from the Library of Congress.
GovTrack.us – bill tracking site with handy extra features
U.S. House of Representatives
U.S. Senate
Congressional Budget Office
Government Accountability Office (GAO)
Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports

ALASKA

State Agencies / Documents
State of Alaska – Executive Branch
State of Alaska Agency Annual Reports List
Alaska Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
Directory of State Officials
State Employees Whitepages

Alaska Legislature
Alaska Legislature
Legislative Audits
List of Publications
The Legislative Process in Alaska (pdf)
Alaska Legislative Budget Handbook (pdf)
Internet Research Guide (pdf)

Alaska Legal
Alaska Court System
Alaska Justice Forum
Alaska Law Review 
Alaska Supreme Court Opinions
Alaska Case Law Service
Alaska Bar Association
Alaska Constitution
A Citizen’s Guide to the Alaska Constitution (pdf)

Miscellaneous Alaska
The Municipality of Anchorage
Fairbanks North Star Borough
City of Fairbanks
City and Borough of Juneau
Alaska Municipal League
First Alaskans Institute
Institute of Social and Economic Research, UAA
KTOO-Gavel to Gavel Schedule

POLICY AND POLITICS

Think Tanks / Organizations
American Civil Liberties Union
Brookings Institution
Cato Institute
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Economic Policy Institute
Heartland Institute
Heritage Foundation
Moving Ideas: Electronic Policy Network
People for the American Way
Public Agenda
RAND Home Page
State Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs)
The Urban Institute
Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports
Government Accountability Office (GAO)

NEWS
Google News (also try Google News Alerts)
Governing Magazine
State Legislatures Magazine (NCSL)
Town Hall: Conservative News & Information
Stateline.org
Newsbank (legislative staff only)
Anchorage Dispatch News
Juneau Empire
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
Alaska Journal of Commerce
Alaska Economic Trends
List of all Alaska Newspapers

SPECIFIC SUBJECTS

Economic Development
Denali Commission
Center for Economic Development(ISER, UAA)
Anchorage Economic Development Corporation
Juneau Economic Development Council
Southeast Conference
Fairbanks Economic Development Corporation

Environment / Resources
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
ADF&G Links
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Alaska
Federal Subsistence Management Program
NOAA Fisheries

Ethics/Elections
NCSL Ethics Page
Alaska Ethics Committee
Alaska Bar Association Ethics Page
Alaska Public Offices Commission (APOC)
Project Vote Smart
League of Women Voters
Federal Election Commission
Freedom of Information Center
Center for Media & Public Affairs (media analysis)

Health & Social Services
The Urban Institute
Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation
Kaiser Family Foundation State Health Facts Online
Child Trends
Kids Count
National Center for Children in Poverty
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Institutes of Health
National Health Law Program
National Center for Health Statistics

Internet
The Progress & Freedom Foundation
Center for Democracy and Technology
Electronic Frontier Foundation

Justice
Criminal Justice Links (Florida State University)
Bureau of Justice Statistics
National Criminal Justice Reference Service
Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention
Vera Institute of Justice
Rand Institute for Civil Justice

Native / Rural Issues
ANCSA Resource Center
Alaskool – Information and Curricula on Alaska Native Cultures
First Alaskans Institute
Tribal Law and Policy Institute
Tribal Justice and Safety in Indian Country
National Tribal Justice Resource Center
Native American Rights Fund (NARF)
U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development
National Association of Development Organizations 
Rural Policy Research Institute
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Rural Initiatives

Oil and Gas
The American Petroleum Institute (API)
Oil Price Information Service
Energy Information Administration
Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission 
National Petroleum Council
Alaska Energy Authority

Privacy
Privacy Rights Clearinghouse
Electronic Privacy Information Center
Privacy Journal

State Finances / Budgets
Citizen’s Guide to the Alaska Budget – ISER, UAA
National Association of State Budget Officers
Government Finance Officers Association
Tax Foundation - State Finance

Taxes
Tax Foundation
Federation of Tax Administrators
Sales, Use & Excise Taxes
National Tax Association
Americans for Tax Reform

STATISTICS SOURCES

Alaska
Alaska Community Database (AK DCCED data)
Economic, Occupation, Population Info (AK DOL)
Alaska Profiles (U.S. Census Bureau data)
Alaska Statistics Service – maintained by the Alaska State Library
Kids Count Alaska – ISER, UAA

National
U.S. Bureau of the Census
Census’s American Fact Finder
Census’s Statistical Abstract of the U.S.
Fedstats: Federal Statistics
U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Social Statistics (The White House)
Securities & Exchange Commission EDGAR
Bureau of Economic Analysis (US DOC)
National Center for Education Statistics
Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics
CIA World Factbook
National Archives and Records Administration

NOTE: Send comments or updates to research@akleg.gov.  These links are current as of August 2017. Good luck in your research.

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