Legislature Web Site Clicks For Cyber Citizens There’s Plenty Of Online Material, Even A Kids Page For Lawmakers Of Future

Although the Legislature is 300 miles away, it can be as close as the computer screen for cyber citizens.

With the right equipment, following the Legislature in action, or sometimes inaction, is a snap. Make that a click of the mouse button.

A mouse is extremely useful, but of absolute necessity are a modem - the faster the better - and an Internet link.

For those who want the sounds as well as the voluminous written words, a sound card and speaker are also needed. More on that later.

Start with the Legislature’s own Web site, which has some of the best offerings for those who want to follow the daily flow of legislation.

Entering http://leginfo.leg.wa.gov/ into the appropriate place in one’s browser brings up the Legislative Home Page, the jump-off point for state government watchers of all ages.

That’s right, all ages. Prominent among the options is the Kids Page, from which one can find out such things as the state flower, song, songbird and gemstone (coast rhododendron, “Washington My Home,” willow goldfinch and petrified wood, respectively); create a “coloring book” by printing outlines of such Washington-esque objects as the Capitol, Mount St. Helens or a stand of wheat; or find out how to become a legislative page.

Clicking back to the home page brings back the full range of services the Legislature is providing online. The most helpful is the comprehensive bill-tracking system available by clicking on Bill Info.

The list of options includes Bill Search, allowing a cyber citizen to type in one or more words and get all legislation on that topic.

For example, to check a report that the Legislature is considering designating a state insect - one that is, presumably, not among its membership - simply type in “insect” and get a list of six bills that have something to do with insects.

Clicking each option would reveal that five have something to do with tax assessments for lands damaged by insects, but one, H.B. 1320, is a proposal to name Anux Junius, the green darner dragonfly, the official state bug.

The screen also instantly reveals the bill’s 12 sponsors and status - read on Jan. 22 and referred to the House Government Administration Committee, where it hibernates with H.B. 1088, which seeks to name the imperial wooly mammoth the state fossil.

A cyber citizen who knows a bill’s number can bypass some steps by clicking the Daily Status Report option on the Bill Information page, which lists all bills of both houses, or the House Bill Information option, which provides a numeric list of all House-proposed legislation in groups of 25, then gives the text, summary and history for each bill in a separate file.

Cross-checking confirms the state bug bill remains in the larval stage.

A cyber citizen who believes that some other bug deserves to be state insect can get the phone number or address to contact his or her state representatives. Don’t know who they are? The Web site provides a way to help look it up.

The system isn’t perfect. It offers to look up legislators by ZIP Code, but in Spokane and several other cities, the district lines don’t follow postal code boundaries.

Cyber citizens can even keep the communication electronic by calling up a legislator’s personal page and clicking the e-mail option. All members of both houses now have e-mail, although some respond more quickly than others.

A word of caution about the District Office list of phone numbers and addresses, which is one other option on the Web site: It’s seriously out of date, offering local phone numbers and addresses from last year for some folks no longer in office.

But dedicated cyber citizens need not stop at a mere perusal of bills and schedules, maps and biographies. An even more aggressive site is run designed by Television Washington, or TVW, the state’s version of C-Span.

One of the problems with TVW has been that one never knows when it’s going to be on and what it’s going to show. The network’s Web site has a complete schedule for what hearings it will be covering live or on tape.

TVW also covers such things as Gov. Gary Locke’s scheduled press conferences - live and with replays - and meetings by state agencies.

The network also offers those cyber citizens with the right audio equipment the chance to listen to live hearings or tapes of past meetings. Be sure to read the specs - it requires a modem of at least 14.4 thousand bps to operate the RealAudio system, and a 28.8 modem to use the free software available on the Web site.

Among the sites available from the TVW Outlinks button are The Citizens Guide to Washington State, an easy-to-read primer on politics and government put together by Dave Chappell, a former legislative staffer, which has only one detectable glitch. Its link to Legislative Facts and Figures currently takes one to a page of Latin American Flags and Facts. But on the World Wide Web, stuff happens.

A site run by the Washington Council for Social Studies Washington also offers basic information on government as well as some links to newspapers, magazines and other news media Web sites. Sponsors would deserve a mention even if they didn’t refer to The Spokesman-Review as “A fine electronic newspaper from Spokane.”

Eyes on Washington, one of 50 sites put together by Politics Now, is not as helpful, mainly providing links back to the Legislature and state government offices, outdated stories from last year’s election and its main page, run by The Washington Post, ABC and Newsweek.

From there, one can venture into national politics, the home pages for Congress, the White House and the national political parties and think tanks. But that’s a discussion for a time after a cyber citizen figures how many of those precious Web-surfing hours to devote to politics.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: WEB SITES Keeping up with the Legislature via computer is easier if you save the Web sites you find most useful. Here are some to try, and add to your bookmark list if they fit your needs. The Washington State Legislature Home Page, http://leginfo.leg.wa.gov/. Comprehensive, user friendly and fast. This is the entry point for information about bills, legislators, the state Capitol and the state’s elected executives. Cyber citizens interested mainly in tracking legislation can save a few clicks by adding www/bills.htm after the last slash in the home page address. Those who are curious about the scheduling of hearings and debates can add www/calendar.htm. The Governor’s Office Home Page, http://www.wa.gov/governor/. Gov. Gary Locke wasted no time establishing a flashy and functional Internet presence. It lists a biography and a current schedule, links to press releases and texts of recent speeches, and ways to contact him by mail, phone and, of course, e-mail. Television Washington, http://www.tvw.org. This is a great source for those who want to listen to the Legislature, and have the equipment to do so. It is starting a library of tapes for speeches and meetings. It also provides links to the Legislature, state offices and other government sites. Home Page Washington, http://wa.gov/wahome.html. Clean graphics and a comprehensive index make this easy to use. Along with the standard connections to the Legislature, governor and state Supreme Court, it offers links to local and regional governments, recreation and tourism sources, businesses, schools and environmental organizations. The Citizens Guide to Washington State, http://www.localaccess.com/chappell/tcg/guide.htm. Not fancy but easy to use. It offers explanations of the governmental process, the two political parties, and links to government sites. Washington Social Studies, http://www.learningspace.org/socialstudies/. A good tool for grade school and high school teachers, with information about the state, the governmental process and links to media outlets. State Public Disclosure Commission, http://www.washington.edu/pdc/. Not glitzy, but functional, it’s the premier place to check out who gave what money to which candidate. The files are voluminous and require time to download and analyze. Eyes On Washington, http://www.politicsnow.com/welcom/welcomewa/index.htm. Although this provides nothing new in the way of Washington state sources, it is an entry into national news, via The Washington Post and ABC News, and links to national government and political sites.