On the Web:

Both the state and federal government provide useful Web sites. The federal government is emphasizing electronic provision of information instead of print publication and many government documents are being phased out or turned over to commercial publishers. Business researchers should be familiar with government Web sites and the tools that can be used to search them. The following represent only a few of the sites of interest to business.

Local Government

City of Santa Monica Business Center  Use this site if you are looking for a business in Santa Monica, wish to do business with the city of Santa Monica, or are looking for an economic & demographic profile of Santa Monica.

Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce  Information on doing business in L.A., spending/living/playing in L.A., Chamber headlines, & several calendars of events.

Los Angeles County: Naming Your Business  Find information on naming your business in Los Angeles County; includes a fictitious business name search.

Los Angeles County Office of Small Business  Find contracting and business opportunities within the County, and a link to online courses on starting & running a business.

Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce  Represents the business interests of the city of Santa Monica and its business community. Includes an events calendar, Chamber publications, and information about Santa Monica.

State Government

Business in California  Listed under the topics in the sidebar menu. Business facts and figures, law and regulations, agencies, permits and licenses, and more.

California Codes  Select a code and search by keyword.

California Code of Regulations  Consists of 28 titles and contains the regulations of approximately 200 regulatory agencies.

California License Handbook  Good starting point for locating State requirements for California professional and business licenses.

Cal/EPA  California Environmental Agency. Departments and agencies concerned with environmental matters, programs, legislation, publications, and hot topics.

Franchise Tax Board  Find California tax forms online for the current and previous years.

Federal Government

Department of Commerce  Includes Bureau of Export Administration, Economics and Statistics Administration, Minority Business Development Agency, Patent and Trademark Office, and much more.

Department of Labor  Includes Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment and Training Administration, OSHA, Federal Contract Compliance Programs, Office of Small Business Programs, etc.

Energy Information Administration  Information on all types of energy plus forecasts, prices, consumption data, and links to other energy information.

Federal Marketplace  Government contract and procurement opportunities.

IRS Home Page  Includes tax forms and publications.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)  "OSHA's mission is to assure the safety and health of America's workers by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach, and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual improvement in workplace safety and health."

U.S. Business Advisor  "One stop electronic link to government for business."

U.S. Small Business Administration  Information on government loan and assistance programs, etc.

U.S. Tax Code Online  Offers full text searching for tax codes.

Some tools for locating federal information:

FedWorld Information Network  Search government Web sites and government reports; military specifications; federal jobs; government research centers; government databases available on the Web; etc.

GPO Access  Provides free electronic access to information products produced by the Federal Government. Products include government databases, federal agency files available for download, tools for finding government information, and collections of government information available in libraries. Free online use of many Federal databases including: Federal Register and The Code of Federal Regulations, Congressional Record and Congressional bills, Commerce Business Daily (CBDNet), Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (MOCAT), Sales Product Catalog (SPC), and Government Information Locator Service (GILS).

In the Library:

(Some of these print resources are also available online although the content may not be exactly the same).  

• Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
  Lists all types of assistance available from the federal government with complete details on each program, eligibility, and application process. It is published irregularly so information is dated and its complex organization makes it extremely difficult to use.
   
• Federal Reserve Bulletin 
  Discusses current business conditions and provides financial statistics. Click here for FRB articles online.
   
• Franchise Annual 
  Lists franchises by product or type of service. Includes sections on both governmental and non-governmental assistance programs.
   
• Government Assistance Almanac
  Not published by the government but is published annually and provides the same type of information found in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance in well-indexed, easy to use format. The User's Guide to the CFDA provides assistance for first-time users and allows users to browse the contents or the catalog and to locate assistance programs.
   
• Monthly Labor Review (periodical)
  Publishes data on labor force, wages, employee benefits, occupational safety and health, developments in industrial relations, etc. Includes statistical section of data compiled from various labor sources. Click here for online version.
   
• Survey of Current Business (periodical)
  Monthly data on industry trends, business outlook, etc. Click here for online version.

Go to the Library catalog  

On the Library network:

• Associations Unlimited
  Look up federal, state & local government organizations by name or acronym. Also searchable by keyword, geography, subject.
   
• Business & Company Resource Center
  Search for news on state & local government. An extensive business, company and industry database.
   
• California State Tax Forms database
  California state tax forms for the current year. This database appears similar to the FTB (Franchise Tax Board) website. Available only in the Library; print forms for .10 a page using a copy card or your Library card.
   
• Infotrac OneFile
  A large periodicals database featuring the full text and citations for newspaper and magazine articles. Includes many business & government publications.

• IRS Tax Forms database
  Federal tax forms for the current year. Available only in the Library; print forms for .10 a page using a copy card or your Library card.
   
• Newsbank
  Search for full text news relating to governments. Consists of two databases: America’s Newspapers, which indexes the full text of the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Christian Science Monitor, Orange County Register, San Diego Union-Tribune, USA Today, the Washington Post, and the San Francisco Chronicle from roughly 1985 to the present; and Noticias en Español, which provides full text articles in Spanish.

Go to the Library's databases