STATE OF WYOMING
OFFICE OF ?1FE GOVERNOR
GE
R
GOVERNOR
STATE CAPITOL
CHEYENNE, WY 82002
STATE OF WYOMING
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT
EXECUTIVE ORDER
1998 - 3
Pursuant to the authority vested in the Office of the Governor of the State of
Wyoming, I, Jim Geringer, Governor of the State of Wyoming, hereby issue this
Executive Order establishing the State of Wyoming Agency Report Format,
STATE OF WYOMING
Agency Report Format Guide
1. Purpose. This Executive Order establishes a uniform agency report format for
reports submitted to the Legislature and the Governor. The agency report format is
intended t o reduce the costs of preparing required reports and t o make the reports
easier t o read and compare.
2. Scope. The agency report format established by this Executive Order shall be
used by all state entities in preparing reports to be submitted t o the Legislature and
the Governor.
3. Agency Report Format.
In 1997, Wyoming Session Laws, Chapter 31,Section 4 created the Task Force
on State Agency Reports. The committee was charged with recommending t o the
Legislature standards for:
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E-MAIL: governorQmissc.state.wy.us
WEB PAGE: www.state.wy.us
TELEPHONE: (307) 777-7434
TDD: (307) 777-7860 FAX: (307) 632-3909
1.
2.
3.
A uniform format of reports that are submitted t o the Legislature
ai
and the Governor;
Submission of reports in an electronic format;
Distribution of reports to the Legislature in a manner t o assure:
A.
Efficient and effective use of staff in the development of the
reports;
Joint interim committees with oversight responsibilities are
B.
primary recipients of the agency's reports.
The task force recommended that the state encourage the development and use
of Web sites on the Internet for dissemination of information and reports, and that the
executive branch establish a uniform format for combining and possibly eliminating
some reports for all state agencies. The executive branch State Agency Reports
Committee developed a format for agency use in publishing reports. The format
addresses ADA requirements, cataloging and storage concerns, placement on the Web
site, intended uses of reports, types of reports and their specific information
requirements, and federal reporting requirements. With input from agencies, boards,
and commissions, the committee developed a standard report format that is flexible,
uniform, efficient and can be adapted for the Web site.
General Guidelines for the State Aaencv Reborts Committee
These guidelines are t o cover the preparation of reports required by the
executive or legislative branches including the Wyoming State Government Annual
Report. However, there are additional unique instructions for the Annual Report.
For consistency and ease of the reader, printed and/or electronic copies of
reports should adhere t o the following format: Title Page, Table of Contents, General
Comments/Overview/Executive Summary, Specific Requirements of Statute,
Impact/Consequences/Outcomes during the reporting period, Statistical Information,
Recommendations, Summation and Conclusions, Appendices, and Index. Detailed
explanations of each section are located later in this report. Agencies are encouraged
t o produce printed and electronic versions of their reports when possible.
To further assist the reader, state publications should maintain consistency in
style.
In keeping with accepted journalistic style:
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Use single spacing only.
Use lower and upper case (please do not type anything in capital letters).
Avoid personal pronouns (I, we, us) in copy.
Be consistent in spelling style, for example, monies or moneys.
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Check spelling, grammar and word usage after completing the report.
Standardize fiscal year FY98.
Do not abbreviate in the first reference; spell out all words and acronyms, even
if they are familiar t o you.
Number pages (use pencil if the report becomes a part of a larger publication).
Avoid jargon.
Vary paragraph lengths and avoid excessively long sentences and paragraphs.
Numbers from one through nine should be spelled out. Any numbers following
nine should be written in numeric form.
In a series, use all numeric forms even if a number is less than nine, for
example: 3 full-time empfoyees, 1 part-time employee and 300 students.
Numbers in millions should be written in decimal form, for example: $6.2
million.
Do not begin a sentence with a number.
Use numeric forms for percentages: 4 percent. Spell out the word "percent" in
text.
Spell out legislative session numbers.
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Capitalize:
Position titles as part of and immediately preceding a name (keeping this option
t o a minimum), but use lower case if they follow the name.
Names of committees, agencies or proper nouns.
Specific names of legislative acts.
State of Wyoming when used in full.
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Do not capitalize:
The words: national, federal, state, and local.
In accordance with W.S. 9-2-1026.6, agency staff are reminded to place seven
copies of each publication issued by a state officer, commission, commissioner, or
board of a state institution, with the State Library for the state publications depository.
Copies can be sent inter-office mail t o the attention of the State Documents
Depository.
In addition to the above guidelines, the Task Force on State Agency Reports has
drafted the following policy:
Hard copies of reports for the entire Legislature shall be submitted in three (3)
copies t o the Legislative Service Office. For reports submitted t o a committee,
sufficient copies for each member plus t w o (2) copies. If an agency uses a Web site
t o display their reports, they need t o notify LSO of the location. If the agency does
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not have a Web site, ]they can provide LSO with an electronic format submitted on a
DOS compatiWe disk in either WordPerfect or MSWord 6.0, or as an ASCII test file.
The sections of each report will remain the same and will not be renumbered.
If a particular section is not needed in a report, it is noted on the Table of Contents
page, in parenthesis, that it is "not applicable." For example, not all reports will have
In this instance, the agency would write
section 5, Recommendations.
'cRecommendations, (not applicable). =
.5.1." The rest of the sections will continue
with their specific page numbering. This creates consistency between all reports by
keeping the sections the same, and aids the reader in finding sections and information
they want t o read. Agencies can make a section as large or small as needed. The
page numbering shall be centered and numbered with reference t o the section and
page. For example, "5.1I 5.2" etc.
.
Specific Guidelines fo r the State Aaencv Reports Committee
Title Page References:
Series number (if applicable)
Title
Acknowledgments (authors, compilers, editors, illustrators)
Edition or revision number
Date (year or month and year) and statutory reference if
affects date
OFF/C/AL NAM€ of the issuing AGENCY as referenced in the
Wyoming State Government Directory, (not the colloquial
name), agency number, Web site, and e-mail addresses
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(7) Place of publication
(8) Date of publication
(9) Verso (reverse side), notice of copyright if applicable, ISBN or
ISSN if applicable
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Part I
11)
Standardization of Government Reports
(2)
compiled by
David S . Jones
and edited by
Barbara J. Smith
131
First Edition
(4)
1998, W.S. 0-0-000(a)(c)
15)
Governor's Office
(00'1
1
[email protected]. wy. us
w wvv state .wv.us
(6)
Cheyenne, Wyoming 82002
(71
June 30, 1998
(81
Copyright 1998
ISBN 0-1234-4321-X 19)
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I
Table of Contents
1.
General Comments/Overview/Executive Summary
1.I
28
Specific Requirements of Statute
2.1
3.
lrnpact/Consequences/Outcomes
38 1
4.
Statistical Information
4.1
58
Recommendations
581
6. Summation and Conclusions
68 I
78
Appendices
781
8.
Index
881
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1. General Comments/Overview/Execut iveSummaryA
This section will cover, in general, the introduction, overview or executive
summary for the report. Some reports may not require this section, or the agency
may decide to eliminate it.
All state agencies are required t o prepare the following reports and each has a
specific deadline for submission:
ReDort
Annual report
Strategic Plan
Budget narrative
Due Date
September 15, 1998
September 1, 1998
December 1, 1998
Statute
W.S. 9-2-1014(a)
W.S. 28-1-1 15(a)
W.S. 28-1-1 15(a)
In addition, for example, some agencies are required by statute t o report t o the next
legislative session or a specified legislative session. The timing of these due dates
will likely not correspond t o the due dates for the reports listed above. Agencies
should bear in mind that the reporting of accurate information in a timely manner is
more important than consolidation of reports for consolidation sake.
3. Impact/Consequences/Outcomes
The agencies should report the fiscal impacts of the agencies' programs. A
form such as the one below should be used to show how the program's budget will
compare t o the last biennium.
ProgramsExpense
Orgs.
Current Biedal
Appropriation
Previous Biennial
Appropriation
Reversions
Agencies administering programs that receive funding from earmarked accounts
should report the revenue inflows and outflows. A table such as the one below
should be used t o present this fiscal information.
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Financial Status Report
Earmarked Account -‘
.
July 1, ---- Balance
Revenues Received
Taxes received
Interest Income
General Fund
Other
Total Revenues
Commitments
Appropriations
Contracts
Expenditures
Account Balance
.
List all programs or projects alphabetically. Program or Project numbers and internal
organization of programs or projects by number may mean little if anything t o the
average legislator or citizen. Most people know the name of the program or project
that interests them, and if the material is organized in alphabetical order readers can
find what they need. In the narrative description of the project or program, the
reference numbers, etc. should be provided. This information will help the inquirer
when requesting additional information.
4. Statistical Information
If applicable for the report, this section should include a summarization of any
statistical information being presented. The actual statistical information should be
included and referenced as an appendix to your report. For example, “see ,Number
of Permits Issued by County, page 8.4.” In this section, state the relevancy of the
statistical figures. If the information shown in the appendix is more than simply
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data, such as figures ,derived from actual statistical sampling, the degree of accuracy
(such as a confidence interval), should be addressed.
5.
Based on the information reported, recommendations should be made in terms
of desired outcomes. The recommendations can be project by project, site by site,
level etc., depending on the type of report. The recommendations should be specific
and outline a course of action t o resolve an identified goal or outcome.
6. Summation and Conclusions
This section of the report should provide the reader with a short, clear, and
concise statement of the findings and/or recommendations.
7. Appendices
This section is reserved for tables, charts, graphs and other visual aids used
t o illustrate information in any one section of the report. Charts, graphs and other
aids cannot be displayed on the Web site. For this reason, all visual aids will be
located in this section and'can be referenced in other related sections of the report.
8. Index
This section is t o be used by the agency t o highlight or reference any
information that is often requested, or t o reference specific projects, chart, graphs
and tables. The agency may decide t o index at the level of detail they choose.
This Order shall be effective on J w f l c
effect until amended.
/1, 1998, and shall remain in
Given un er my hand and the Executive Seal of the State of Wyoming this
gw day
1998.
of 4M#&,
/Governor
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of the State of w o m i n g