Idaho Legislature On-Line Web Home Page Tracks Bills, Committee Agendas, Statutes
On the first day of the Idaho legislative session, the hightech directory to the Legislature was having technical problems.
Agendas, bills, and committee lists accessible by computer were unavailable Monday due to an error by a national World Wide Web server. But the problem was fixed by early evening, and now anyone with a computer, a modem, and Internet access can find out exactly what is going on in the state’s capital.
The World Wide Web page - updated daily - allows access to rosters of the House of Representatives, Senate, and committees. The full text and tracking history of all filed bills are available, along with session summaries, vetoes, committee agendas, and Idaho’s statutes.
The Idaho Constitution will be added to the page sometime within the next two weeks, said Jeanne Fitzgerald, one of the creators and administrators of the page. Also to be added is a table of contents for the Idaho Code to make the complex document more user-friendly.
Simplicity was first on Fitzgerald’s list of criteria for the page. “We tried to make it user-friendly, so that there would be no question as to what’s available,” she said. “Whatever it says on the explanations, that’s what’s in there.”
Easy access wasn’t on every state’s agenda when launching similar projects, however.
Most states have lots of graphics and photographs in their home pages. These take a long time to call up on most Internet servers, so when Fitzgerald designed the Idaho page, she avoided graphics.
“We wanted to make it clean and efficient, make it clear and easy.” She also pointed out that access to information on the Idaho page is quick. One main menu has every link for the page.
No layered menus. No hassle. One click of the mouse and you’re there.
This accessibility has attracted hordes of users. Almost 3,000 people have visited this page via modem since October 1995.
To find the Idaho legislative page, go to:
http://www.state.id.us/legislat/ legislat.html, or search for the keywords “Idaho Legislature.”
, DataTimes