National Conference of State Legislatures

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The National Conference of State Legislatures is a “bipartisan organization that serves the legislators and staffs of the nation's 50 states, its commonwealths and territories.” Their website also provides researchers with a tremendous amount of information on state and federal issues. I recommend making a stop at this site when looking for legislative summaries, reports, 50 state surveys, etc. The NCSL site addresses a significant number of topics including criminal justice, labor, environmental issues, education, commerce, etc.

The information varies, depending on the subject. For example, the Government Ethics area offers 50 state surveys on nepotism restrictions, honorariums, and dual employment. The Eminent Domain section highlights the Kelo decision, Post-Kelo state legislation, presentations, and publications. The Human Services section offers a review of state domestic violence laws.

The majority of the information provided under the “Issues” section is available to all. Another positive factor is every page clearly states when it was updated. The publications and some other materials are member restricted. The only negative I believe is it does take a few keystrokes to drill down to specific information. You might just want to try a keyword search.