Posted on Sun, Apr. 20, 2008

Information sources used for this report

To identify lawmakers' jobs and other sources of income, the Herald-Leader checked the financial disclosure reports for all 138 members. The reports are filed annually at the Legislative Ethics Commission and are available at http://klec.ky.gov/reports.

To establish which measures legislators sponsored or amended, or which budget requests they made, the newspaper used www.kentuckyvotes.org, an online database created by the non-profit Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions, a free-market think tank in Bowling Green. The Bluegrass Institute's database goes back three years.

For a few lawmakers -- such as Rep. Greg Stumbo, who recently returned to the House after serving four years as attorney general -- the Herald-Leader went back several years further using the Legislative Research Commission's Web site (www.lrc.ky.gov/legislation.htm), which tracks the full text and history of every bill since 1997.

The newspaper also checked news stories, press releases, trade publications and other published accounts.

The Herald-Leader cited legislation in which the sponsoring lawmaker is identified. Some bill amendments, committee substitutes and budget requests are enacted anonymously.