Florida's government web sites

A journey through the Florida government web sites will begin today. The search will focus on new developments, hidden resources, and research tools. Every state is different. This is the best way to discover how the system works.

First up, The Florida Monitor, or the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA). This is the "monitoring arm" of Florida's government, similar to the federal GAO.

Research resources on the site include:
The Florida Weekly Monitor, a free electronic newsletter, but an e-mail subscription is required to use the "database;"
OPPAGA Reports posted in full text on the site, can be viewed by topic, agency, numeric order, recently published, or reports in progress; and
FGAR, The Florida Government Accountability Report, described as "an internet encyclopedia of Florida state government." It's searchable, and resulting pages provide a brief description of each agency's purpose, funding, laws, and current issues facing the agency, with links to pertinent web sites or documents. It's like an online government manual.

New Florida state court web sites

On November 19, 2004, the Florida Supreme Court unveiled its new web site at http://www.floridasupremecourt.org. Now we will all have to work on changing our links to their web page, right down to the decision level. There is also a new web page for the Florida State Court System.

The major improvement to the Florida Supreme Court web site is better navigation. Links to the main resources are right on top: Public Information, Docket Search, Court Decisions and Rules, and Oral Arguments all from the home page. Court decisions and other court documents are, however, still split up, e.g. High Profile Cases vs. Briefs in Other Cases.

Radon database

The Sun-Sentinel reported on radon in S. Florida on Sunday, Nov. 21, 2004. The story goes into great detail on describing the problem: what it is, where it can be found, who can help. The article points to a good web page on radon from the Florida Department of Health. It includes links to radon law and rules, a list of certified radon businesses, radon information, and a database of Florida radon data by ZIP codes.