Last updated: October 3, 2026
At State News Now, factual accuracy, primary source transparency, and rigorous verification are the foundation of our civic journalism. Our readers rely on our reporting to understand complex state statutes, public finance allocations, infrastructure engineering, and environmental stewardship.
Primary Sources and Evidence Hierarchy
Every factual assertion, legislative quote, agency budget figure, and statutory citation published on State News Now must be anchored in primary, verifiable public records. Our evidentiary hierarchy prioritizes:
- Official Legislative Journals and Enacted Statutes: State legislative dockets, slip laws, enacted bills (e.g., California Senate Bills, Texas House Bills), and legislative reference bureau records.
- Federal and State Administrative Agency Records: Regulatory filings, administrative dockets, environmental impact statements, and compliance audits published by agencies such as the EPA, USGS, FERC, DOT, and state departments of natural resources.
- Judicial Decisions and Docket Filings: Published opinions, appellate rulings, consent decrees, and public filings from state supreme courts and federal district courts.
- Peer-Reviewed Research and Government Accountability Reports: Non-partisan studies published by university research centers, state legislative audit bureaus, and the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).
Verification Workflow
Before publication, all investigative reports undergo a systematic multi-tier verification process:
- Author Verification: The reporting journalist verifies all statistics, dates, names, titles, and statutory citations directly against original documentary records.
- Cross-Referencing: Factual assertions must be corroborated by a minimum of two independent, authoritative documentary sources.
- Editorial Review: A senior editor independently examines all references, confirming that primary statutory citations accurately represent the current legal code and have not been repealed or superseded.
Anonymous Sources Policy
We do not publish reports based on unnamed or anonymous sources except under extraordinary circumstances where:
- The information is critical to the public interest, exposing regulatory non-compliance, financial malfeasance, or public safety risks.
- The source faces credible risks of unlawful retaliation, employment termination, or legal liability, consistent with protections under state and federal whistleblower statutes (e.g., 5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(8)).
- The factual claims made by the source are corroborated by independent documentary evidence (internal memoranda, official emails, or public audit findings).
- The identity of the source has been vetted and approved directly by the Senior Editor.
Corrections and Accountability
If you identify an error of fact or a missing statutory reference in any published article, we encourage immediate notification. Please submit documentation to contact@statenewsnow.com or review our Corrections Policy.