Public records first
The platform uses public records such as bill text, amendment versions, agendas, roll call votes, transcripts, filings, and minutes.
About / Methodology
A trust-first model for public decision intelligence.
The site organizes public records into timelines, changes, votes, hearings, stakeholders, and source trails while keeping the product nonpartisan and factual.
Facts separated from interpretation
Records are organized into what changed, who acted, who voted, who spoke, and what source supports the record.
No partisan scores
The product does not assign partisan ratings, candidate scores, or bill endorsements.
No endorsements
By The People, For The People does not endorse candidates, public officials, bills, ordinances, or agencies.
Provenance for every claim
Every factual card should connect to source records with date, type, jurisdiction, and description.
Cited AI summaries later
AI summaries, when used in the future, must cite source records and expose the public record trail that supports the summary.
Missing means missing
Missing data should be labeled as missing, not guessed. Unknown positions and unpublished votes should remain clearly marked.
Understanding, not persuasion
The goal is public understanding of procedural records, not persuasion, mobilization, or outrage optimization.
Record architecture
How a decision file is assembled
A decision file should be reproducible from source records and explicit about where the record is incomplete.
1
Collect primary public records from official publication points.
2
Normalize event dates, source types, actors, vote motions, and procedural stages.
3
Connect each timeline item, summary, amendment diff, vote table, and stakeholder statement to source IDs.
4
Label indexed, missing, or not-yet-indexed information plainly.
5
Publish calm summaries that cite records instead of relying on unsupported claims.
Real-data readiness
The record loop is shaped for official ingestion.
The repeat-use loop only works if fresh records can enter the same trust model: source, change, answer, watch, alert.
California LegInfo and Los Angeles Council File records now map into the same SourceRecord schema.
The product distinguishes final status, vote records, action history, source gaps, and downstream implementation records.
Search results return indexed official records and source-linked coverage gaps.
AI answers, when added later, must cite source IDs before rendering.
The current index includes 10 source records and 6 searchable records.