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Introduction Acknowledgements Executive Summary Scope and Purpose of Report Background Methodology Legislator Information Explanations of Legislative Process Legislative Tracking and Monitoring Legislative Administration State Resources Statements Addressing User Expectations Site Design Site Navigation Conclusion Overview of State Legislatures State Legislative Resource Websites Federal Territories Practices of Note

Plugged In, Tuning Up (March 2001) SCOPE AND PURPOSE OF REPORT The Internet is often touted as an enabling tool for greater civic participation because of its ability to bridge, if not eliminate, the distance between decision-makers and stakeholders. The extent to which this is true is determined not only by the systems through which both sets of actors interact, but also by the willingness of those actors to utilize those systems in such a manner that gives them legitimacy by the widest range of users, and the capacity of systems to take into account a wide range of needs without preference towards one set of interests at the expense of others. This delicate balancing act requires both an understanding of what information is available, how it is presented, and who has access to it, as well as who does not, and the nature of those factors that enable (or prohibit) both access and use by all actors. These considerations, when implemented, form the basis of practices and principles collectively labeled "e-government" that can lead to effective and efficient interaction and information exchange with as few barriers as possible. An initial look at the 50 state legislatures reveals two significant facts. First, regardless of format and quality, all 50 states are online. This means that in the seven years since the Web reached commercial mainstream exposure, all 50 states have achieved web presence of some sort. Second, not all legislative web resources are designed to accommodate the needs of the public at this time. Some state legislative resource websites are geared towards lawmakers themselves with proscribed levels of public access, others toward the public itself. In an attempt to aggregate as much information as possible, a tension appears between balancing depth and volume. Overall, the sites themselves provide a useful starting point through which citizens can take advantage of the resources of particular chambers. Rather than create a best and worst list of states, our intent is to provide a useful beginning framework and baseline for each state to measure, evaluate, and assess its online efforts. It is our hope that this assessment will also help the public to identify and assess the online legislative resources for their state, the functionality of those resources, promising practices that can serve to inform better design and better use of these important online resources. As a follow-up to this study, OMB Watch plans to survey legislators and legislative support staff on the use of Internet technologies to inform and engage constituencies, and the relationship between legislators and nonprofits.