Before They Build™
Authority and provenance index.

About

Authority provenance.

Every procedural rule and editorial standard on this site has one home. Here is the index — module by module, with what each one governs and where you'll meet it.

≈4 min read

src/lib/authority/hearingStructure.ts

Hearing structure

Hearing verbs, the adaptable speaking outline, room roles, record-confirmation guidance, written decisions, and common mistakes.

Consumed by

Drawn from

  • Robert's Rules of Order (Newly Revised)
  • American Planning Association — Public Engagement
  • State open-meetings acts (varies by state)

src/lib/authority/publicRecordsTemplates.ts

Public records templates

Initial request, status follow-up, fee waiver, and appeal letter templates. Plus the lists of what is usually available, common exemptions, and records red flags.

Consumed by

Drawn from

  • Federal Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552
  • State public-records / sunshine laws (varies by state)
  • Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press — open-government guides

src/lib/authority/evidenceLadder.ts

Evidence quality ladder

Three rungs (Strong / Medium / Weak) describing what counts as evidence at each level.

Consumed by

Drawn from

  • Federal Rules of Evidence (advisory framing only)
  • American Planning Association — Public Engagement

src/lib/authority/sourceReliability.ts

Source reliability pyramid

Tiered hierarchy of source authority — statute, regulation, official agency guidance, court decision, academic, NGO, news, social media.

Consumed by

Drawn from

  • Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (general hierarchy)
  • American Planning Association editorial practice

src/lib/authority/authorityLevel.ts

Authority level

PRIMARY / SECONDARY / TERTIARY ranking applied at the article level — mirrors the source pyramid but at the surface where readers meet it.

Consumed by

Drawn from

  • Internal editorial standard — Before They Build Editorial Team

src/lib/authority/fieldCards.ts

Field cards

Wallet- and field-card content for Hearing Verbs, Environmental Questions, and Agency Call Preparation. Generated from the hearing-structure module plus editorial canonical lists.

Consumed by

Drawn from

  • src/lib/authority/hearingStructure.ts (re-export)
  • Editorial Team — environmental questions canonical list

This page is co-maintained with the codebase. If you spot something on the site that doesn't match the authority module it claims to follow, tell us.