Local Government: Common link to laws and legal documents
Updated May 2005.
Many local government entities generate or maintain local laws or legal documents. Many of these entities maintain separate Websites, often relying upon a common Webportal to help provide access to their materials. This can result in laws and legal documents which are scattered between highly disparate locations within the Webportal structure.
This problem could be remedied by use of a common link which leads the site visitor to all laws and legal documents, wherever they are located within the City’s Website/Webportal structure. Ideally, this common link would be located on or immediately off the City’s main home page.
At this time, the evaluator has not found a local government site that provides a common links to all laws and legal documents. For this reason, the reader is referred to a site that provides a common link to a substantial portion of laws and legal documents.
Seattle, http://www.cityofseattle.net/html/CITIZEN/your.htm
- The city’s homepage provides a navigation button that leads directly to this “Your Government” webpage.
- This page lists and links to a significant number of laws and legal materials, including:
- a “City Legislation & Records” link that leads to a rich array of local legislative documents and related materials, including:
- the City Code
- the City Charter
- Council bills and ordinances
- Resolutions
- City Council minutes
- City Clerk’s files
- the “Seattle Channel” providing Webcasts of Council and Committee meetings, Mayor’s press conferences, etc.
- a “Seattle Municipal Court” link that leads to the Court’s main Webpage providing:
- local court rules
- judicial information (including information on judges and magistrates)
- online court services (including some e-filing services, etc.)
- schedule of fines for common violations
- courtroom holidays and locations
- a number of links to general information about the court
- a “Boards and Commissions” link that leads to city offices maintaining other legal documents and materials (for example, one link leads to the Seattle Ethics and Election Commission (SEEC) Webpage which provides a link to the SEEC Administrative Rules)
- a “Departments and Agencies” link that leads to city offices maintaining other legal documents and materials (for example, one link leads to the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) Webpage which provides a link to Seattle’s Parking Regulations
3. This page also provides several useful links, including:
- an “Other Governments” link to Websites of other governments (federal, state and other local governments).
- a “City Acronyms” link to an alphabetical, comprehensive list of acronyms for local government services, programs, departments, offices, groups, etc.
4. This page provides multiple linking paths to many of the legal resources listed above.
