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Monday, June 02, 2008

Ind. Gov't. - "Web sites ease access to Kentucky, Indiana services"

Lesley Stedman Weidenbener of the Louisville Courier Journal writes today on state government websites in Kentucky and Indiana. The story begins:

Taxpayers don't always have to drive to their state capitols -- or even to local license branches or government offices -- to keep up with state business anymore.

More and more state services, meetings and documents are available online, giving Kentuckians and Hoosiers access to information without filling up their tanks with $4-a-gallon gasoline.

On the same day last month in Indiana, Clark County residents could watch the state Supreme Court's arguments in the David Camm murder case and a tax control board's consideration of $4.2 million in bonds to renovate a local government building.

Both were Webcast live, which means viewers needed only a computer and a fast Internet connection.

But states aren't just using the Web to broadcast meetings. Taxpayers can file business forms online, buy hunting and fishing licenses, check campaign finance records and book nights at state park lodges.

"States have made remarkable progress putting services online," said Darrell West, director of Brown University's Traubman Center for Public Policy that tracks e-government programs. "People like the convenience of being able to order services electronically as opposed to personally visiting a government office."

In a study released last year, the Traubman Center ranked Kentucky's state government site as fourth best in the country and Indiana's as 16th best, based on services available to taxpayers and privacy protection.

"A great way to use technology is to give people power over information," West said. "Live streaming is becoming more common. Podcasts are big. Agencies are starting to put audio feeds of hearings and official proceedings online and that's a good way to bring government home to people."

Residents can use their computers to watch the legislatures in Kentucky -- through Kentucky Educational Television -- and Indiana. Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear and Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels make audio and video files available on their respective Web sites. And courts in both states offer live streams of some oral arguments.

David Remondini, a spokesman for the Indiana Supreme Court, said the justices are "very interested in removing a lot of the mystery from how the courts operate."

"The best way is to let people see how appellate courts work on a regular basis," he said. "And so we made the commitment to install the equipment and arrange for staff to Webcast it with the eye toward educating the public."

Last month, more than 19,200 people viewed the Indiana Supreme Court's oral arguments page. About 25 percent of those views came the day of the Camm case appeal.

"If we had to pick an average number for a so-called typical oral argument, it would be 15," Remondini said. "But now there are times when hundreds of people are watching, either through hundreds of computers or one computer that is broadcasting in an auditorium."

One aspect not touched on is the preservation or archiving of records of public hearings, such as sessions of the Indiana General Assembly. The Indiana House and Senate are not creating public archives of the past sessions of the General Assembly for which video was compiled.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on June 2, 2008 08:23 AM
Posted to Indiana Government