Proposals vs decisions vs data releases, official records compared plainly

What to take away

Public bodies publish documents for different jobs. Reading them as one "official records" category causes avoidable errors. A proposed rule is not a final rule; a hearing record is not a finding; a bill is not a law; a dataset release may be revised.

The public records reporting guide shows how to obtain each of them in the first place.

The comparison below focuses on what each record can support in an explanatory article.

Comparison table

Proposals and enacted measures

A proposal records intent and text at one point in a process. It can change, fail, expire, or be replaced. Report the stage in every summary. Stage language is the daily work of government policy reporting.

GovInfo explains that congressional bills are proposals. It identifies eight bill and resolution types and lists the versions tied to steps in the legislative process.

Its guide to congressional bills and versions supports checking the Congress, chamber, bill type, number, and version before describing the text. The page covers U.S. federal legislative publications, not state systems.

Decisions and orders

A final decision can establish that a body reached an outcome and ordered a specified action. Read the authority, effective date, conditions, appeal status, and attached findings. A court opinion can contain allegations, procedural history, reasoning, and holdings. Those parts should not be paraphrased as if they have the same status.

Check whether a later order stayed, amended, vacated, or corrected the first one.

Minutes, transcripts, and recordings

Minutes are an approved institutional summary. A transcript aims to capture spoken words. A recording provides sound or video but may be incomplete, hard to hear, or missing off-microphone activity.

Use minutes for recorded motions and votes. Use a transcript or recording for exact language, after checking identity and completeness. If two records differ, report the difference rather than silently choosing one. Version questions like these fill the step-by-step method for reading an official document.

Reports and audits

A report is only as broad as its question and method. Identify who commissioned it, who performed it, what evidence was reviewed, the period, exclusions, findings, recommendations, and response from the reviewed body.

Recommendations are not orders unless the author has authority to require them. A management response is not proof that corrective action occurred.

Contracts and spending records

The signed agreement states terms. Amendments can change price, schedule, scope, and parties. Purchase orders, invoices, and payment records answer different questions. Distinguish authorized maximum, obligated amount, invoiced amount, and paid amount.

Data releases

Read the data dictionary before ranking or totaling values. Confirm whether rows represent people, cases, events, payments, or repeated observations. Check suppression rules, missing values, geographic boundaries, inflation treatment, and revision schedules. The statistics and polls guide covers what those definitions do to a comparison.

A current value can be valid under a new method but not directly comparable with an older series. Explain breaks in method.

Repositories and coverage

No single portal contains every public record. GovInfo describes itself as a service of the Government Publishing Office that provides free public access to official publications from all three branches of the federal government. That scope, stated on its description of the repository, covers published material, so a record can exist and still sit outside the collection.

A missing search result means the chosen system did not return the item. It is not proof that no responsive record exists elsewhere.

Selection rule

Match the claim to the record:

Use more than one type when the question spans stages.

Common questions

Is a press release an official record?

It is an official statement from its issuer, but it is usually a summary. Check the underlying order, report, data, or agreement.

Can meeting minutes prove what every participant said?

Not unless the minutes are identified as a verbatim record. They usually summarize proceedings and formal actions.

Is the latest document always controlling?

Not necessarily. Check its legal status, effective date, relationship to earlier versions, and any stay or appeal.

Why save document metadata?

Metadata helps distinguish versions, identify the source, reproduce searches, and explain later changes.