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March 2, 2004
Room H17 – State Capitol
Senator John Hanes, Co-Chairman
Representative Doug Osborn, Co-Chairman
Representative Saundra Meyer
Representative David Miller
Committee Members (Absent)
Senator John Barrasso
Senator Tex Boggs
Dan Pauli, Director
Jim Griffin, Information Technology Manager
Wendy Madsen, Legislative Information Officer
Nichole Dillon, Information Technology Specialist
Patty Wells, Information Technology Specialist
All meeting materials and handouts provided to the Committee by the Legislative Service Office (LSO), public officials, lobbyists, and the public are referenced in the Meeting Materials Index, attached to the minutes. These materials are on file at the LSO and are part of the official record of the meeting.
Co-Chairman Osborn called the meeting to order at 8:05 a.m. The following sections summarize the Committee proceedings by topic. Please refer to Appendix 1 to review the Committee Meeting Agenda.
Marguerite Herman of the League of Women Voters asked the committee to undertake an interim study of the possibility of electronic voting. They would like to see a system to be used for not only current roll call votes but also for standing votes. (Attachment 1)
Representative Osborn expressed concerns with simultaneous voting and said that it is sometimes important to view how others are voting rather than all voting at one time.
The committee discussed this year's use of the projection system in the house. It was generally felt by committee members that the presentations given were good if the fonts used in slides were large enough. The committee asked that permanent screens be obtained for the house and that a similar system be looked at for the senate. Mr. Griffin stated that there was about $12,000 left from the appropriation that could be used for screens and additional equipment for the senate. Mr. Pauli told the committee that money would revert if not spent by June 30, 2004.
The committee also asked staff to look at alternative presentation systems including being able to use the existing laptops at each desk to display presentations.
Senator Hanes said he was interested in developing a system to be able to better display information for people in the galleries. The information would include such things as roll call information similar to what is currently displayed on the Chief Clerk's monitor, and information about the current bill being considered including votes and amendments. He asked that the committee develop a plan for utilizing existing projection systems or other alternatives involving plasma screens or other monitor technology to display information for the public in the lobbies and galleries. He asked staff to research and gather information on monitor technology and software availability.
Mr. Griffin said he would like staff to provide an analysis and to prepare a plan for best utilizing all of the LSO resources including the web site, intranet and document database to more efficiently provide information to legislators, staff and the public. Items included in the plan would include possible enhancements to the web site, intranet and document database and would also include calendaring functions. The plan would be submitted to the committee for discussion and implementation as early as possible in the interim.
The committee asked staff to put together a plan for distribution of new laptops next fall including a time frame for purchase and training. The committee recommended that the value of the laptops being replaced be determined as early as possible by Management Council so that a letter can be sent out to everyone explaining the distribution and training plans. The committee also recommended that those legislators not returning be sent a letter encouraging them to buy or turn in their laptops as soon as possible. The committee thought it would be a good idea to provide regional training or training that coincides with committee meetings in late fall.
Senator Hanes stated that he especially liked the hardcopy manuals handed out in training and requested more hardcopy training manuals in the future. In addition the committee asked staff to look into getting training cds on Outlook and also to do a training session on the Outlook calendar.
The committee discussed PDAs and what should be done if they are authorized in Senate File 2. If they are authorized the committee will want to draft a policy for their acquisition and use.
Mr. Griffin said he would like to look into some alternatives to the current setup of the wireless network. The legislature is currently paying quite a bit for the state providing network licenses and internet access and there may be some better alternatives available. The committee recommended to proceed with a study in this area.
Representative Osborn asked if the committee wanted to look at upgrading the current wireless network to allow for faster access. Most committee members thought the network was fast enough with the exception of certain items such as the Purple Sheet report. Staff explained that the Purple Sheet report speed was more a function of the equipment being used for the bill drafting system than a problem with the wireless network. The current plan is to replace some of the existing equipment this year and that should help the situation. After further discussions, the committee agreed to not pursue upgrading the wireless network.
Representative Osborn asked staff to gather additional information about the benefits and use of the IBM security chip and whether all of the laptops have firewalls on them.
The committee discussed options for interim meetings. They agreed to try to conduct meetings by phone unless a meeting was needed to evaluate equipment.
Representative Osborn asked that a plan to be implemented to proceed with a paperless process. Ms. Madsen told the committee that she will be putting together a white paper after the session addressing what can be done and after discussion and approval by the Technology Committee , the plan would be submitted to the Management Council for approval.
There being no further business, Co-Chairman Osborn adjourned the meeting at 9:30 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Representative Doug Osborn, Co-Chairman