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States pushing harder on e-government

© Alan Kotok

With the nation's attention riveted on the war on terror and homeland security in Washington, DC, activities of the Federal government have taken on a new aura. In the past year, however, state governments have accelerated the integration of IT into their operations with as much sophistication as the Feds. That conclusion comes out of the latest annual Digital State survey conducted by The Progress & Freedom Foundation and Center for Digital Government.

The survey polled chief information officers in the 50 states on the adoption of digital technologies for eight types of applications: e-commerce and business regulation, taxation and revenue, social services, law enforcement and the courts, digital democracy, management and administration, education, and transportation. The study analysts also visited the states' Web sites and conducted follow-up interviews to confirm their findings. The study then computed an overall index for each state and rank ordered the states (the study published only the top 25, not all 50 states).

And the winner is ...

Kansas and Illinois tied for first place in the overall ranking. Kansas's criminal investigations bureau has the first statewide system certified by the FBI for accessing criminal histories. Kansas's universities also offer many administrative services online, enabling students to get their grades and financial aid information over the Internet. Illinois has deployed technology across a variety of functions, including law enforcement. Some seven Illinois state agencies and 65 municipalities provide real-time access to information on vehicle registrations, arrest warrants, firearm owner identification, and criminal history.

Rounding out the top 10 states were Washington State (the winner in each of the last three years), Maryland, Arizona, Maine, New Jersey, Utah, Ohio, and Michigan. The top 25 ranks included states from all regions of the country, as well as those not usually considered hotbeds of high-tech activity, such as Maine, South Dakota, and Alaska.

But having a lot of techies in the population does not guarantee a high ranking. Virginia, a state with a large technology presence (e.g., AOL's headquarters is located in Ashburn, Va.), did not appear in the top 25.

Bringing the citizen closer to the action

More important than the rankings however, were the innovative uses of technology made by the states. The largest increase in the use of IT occurred in the category of digital democracy, covering efforts to increase citizen participation in public processes. Arizona, for example, is the first state to conduct a legally binding election over the Internet, the March 2000 primary for the Democratic presidential nomination. Alaska developed a Bill Action and Status Inquiry System (BASIS) that the survey report recommends as a model for other states. BASIS is a Web-based system to allow citizens to track bills through the legislative process.

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