Key documents you can't live without 1

Doug HaddixAnd Mark Horvit

IRE & NICAR

Know the Lawhttp://www.rcfp.org/ogg/index.php

Ask for the document and/or data retention schedule.

Grab every blank form – both internal and external – in all agencies you cover.

Get a tour.Meet the document and data clerks and

the IT folks.

FOIA – Open records logsState and federal statutesState archivesAudits and reports created for legislative

branch

Census data: Get the basic census data on the community - population, ethnicity, income, housing, etc. You can get it from www.census.gov.

QuickFacts is amazing and amazingly easy to use.

The Big Three: annual report, budget, audit:

Vendors: All businesses that sold goods/services to the local government in the past year.

Tax data: Get property assessments annually, check liens and delinquent taxpayers regularly.

Federal grants to state and local governments and nonprofits: USASpending, Fedspending, and Recovery.gov.

Payroll data for all public employees.Audits(footnotes, management letter)

The employees: The name, title, department, salary and date of hire of each employee. Try to get gender, ethnicity and date of birth.

Boards and committees: All board and committee members. Internal phone directories: Get the staff or department phone

directories. Try to find old copies to locate former employees.

Incorporation records, business licenses/permits to learn who is behind the companies.

Civil lawsuits. Divorce cases.Corporate filings for publicly traded

companies at the SEC.SEC 10K – The annual reports from public

companies.DEF 14A – Definitive proxy statements

(CEO salaries, board of directors info).

990s –What all 501(c)3 organizations that have more than $25,000 in annual revenue must file with the IRS.

Churches are exempt.

IRE database library

TransparencyData is new: all federal and state candidates with finances for the past 20 years.

Party Time! by the Sunlight Foundation.U.S. House expenses for each member’s

office (Senate coming in 2011).

Don’t forget the campaign contribution reports for individuals, political action committees and the “527” nonprofits.

Financial disclosure reports: Get the financial disclosure reports required from officials. And note what’s NOT there.

Voter rolls and registration: Individual registrations, party affiliations, participation.

Credit-card receipts for gas, hotels, rental cars, flights, etc.

Flight logs and manifests for a plane, helicopter or other aircraft.

Calendars and official schedules of public officials.

Text messages and emails

Internal newsletters and publications.Appointment calendars and visitor sign-

in sheets.Cell-phone, text messages and calling-

card records.Department/agency phone directories

(old ones can help you find former employees).

Government Accountability Office (GAO).Congressional Research Service.State legislative research office reports.Regional studies (esp. for planning).Environmental studies and data from the

Right-to-Know Network .

U.S. Bankruptcy Court filings and federal court cases. Use PACER (8 cents a page).

Lawsuits against individuals, companies and government.

Plaintiffs’ Web pages often have complaints, depositions, affidavits.

State oversight agencies / departments. Inspectors general (state and federal).Congressional oversight committees.Securities and Exchange Commission.Attorney general (state and federal).

EPA Toxic Release Inventory (TRI): All classified spills at all local industries, warehouses, commercial sites

EPA Enforcement and Compliance System, including permit compliance

EPA Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Information System (CERCLIS): Includes potential and confirmed hazardous waste sites

EPA Envirofacts data Web pages RTK (Right to Know Network) distribution of

environmental databases

Learn who’s part of it by obtaining membership lists or annual reports from civic organizations

• Chambers of Commerce, both general, specialty and ethnic.• Public/private partnerships or Community Redevelopment

Agencies• Industry groups, general and ethnic• Civic groups like Rotary, Kiwanis, Optimist or the League of

Women Voters;• Social justice groups like Anti-Defamation League, Urban League,

NAACP, NCCJ or CAIR. See who’s on the boards of directors.

Set up RSS feeds, e-mail alerts or follow on Twitter (e.g. USGAO).

Get multiple years for perspective.Layer documents from different sources.Try to get documents electronically. Carry a

portable Flash drive. Use a digital camera (or your phone in a pinch).

Make clean copies of key documents.Write key words/tags in the margins.Type up notes about key documents.Re-read key documents after additional

reporting.

Government AtticWikileaksNational Security Archive at GWUThe Memory HoleResource Shelf