OMB Watch: State Legislative Web Sites Offer Little Practical Information

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Using the Web to access information about your states legislative branch is hardly "everything you always wanted to know about state government but were afraid to ask," according to a new report from OMB Watch.

According to the report, "Plugged In, Tuning Up: An Assessment of State Legislative Websites," most state legislatures Web sites do not offer any information on their legislatures committee or floor schedules, legislative calendars or session reports, and only about half provide plain-English definitions of legislative terminology.

The report also found that 51 percent of the sites plant information-tracking cookies on users computers, but 96 percent of those sites offer no privacy statement showing that they use the technology.

Other findings of the report include:

- 75 percent of legislature Web sites collect or somehow use personal data, but do not have "clearly defined" privacy policies.

- 76 percent of the Web sites offer legislative process information and 65 percent contain copies of state legislature rules.

- 25 percent offer links to their respective executive, judicial and independent agency counterparts.

Not one site, OMB Watch said, has a "clearly identifiable" compliance measure for dealing with common Web principles for users with disabilities.

"Democracy itself depends upon citizen and public interest participation," the group said in its executive summary of the report. "The prospects of e-government to deliver enhanced democracy through technology requires no less. As state legislative Web sites continue to become even more responsive to the needs of their citizenry, the mandate is clear: Be visible, accessible, usable and useful."

OMB Watch noted that e-government must mean "more than providing an e-mail address for a Web master or a single point-of-contact within an organization." The group said it also requires personalization, faster access and other "advanced services."

"Users need to not only feel satisfied but secure in their experience," the report cautioned. "One means to this end might include outreach and training to citizens around their use, not only online, but also in person where people are most likely to access the Internet itself."

Officials at the National Conference of State Legislatures were not immediately available for comment.

Robert MacMillan, Newsbytes