Hi All,

The New York Times ran the following article on the state of Utah's effort
to make the state a "Digital State."  One has to wonder if the definition
includes accessibility.  While I couldn't locate the text of the act
described in the article, a briefing paper outlining goals and objectives
fails to mention accessibility even once.  (The paper does use the word
accessible one time but I'm reasonably certain the meaning where it is used
is of the word available.)

The paper, distributed in the portable document format, is reproduced
following the article and available at:

http://www.governor.state.ut.us/cio/399/Docs/digital_state_brief.PDF

I am not from Utah and have no firsthand knowledge of accessibility efforts
in the state.  I am basing my comments on the exploration I did of the
state government web site starting at:

http://web.state.or.us

as well as reading the materials I could locate on the project goals and
objectives.

The opening link on the state web site is an imagemap lacking any alt-tags
or duplication of links elsewhere on the page.  While not overly cryptic,
one shouldn't have to sort through text like "html/education.htm," just to
find the education links as an example.  Alt-tags are clearly appropriate
in this case and would demonstrate the beginnings of an  understanding of
how to construct an accessible electronic infrastructure.  This is critical
if people with disabilities are to be included in the electronic
information world.

Again I'm not from the state so if others who are more closely involved
have better information I'd welcome hearing what you know.  Otherwise I
hope those in the area with an interest in accessibility can champion the
cause at the necessary levels.  If anyone locates the text or URL to the
act mentioned in the NY Times article I'd appreciate hearing where you
located it.

Kelly


March 27, 1999

Utah Aims to Put All State Services Online

By REBECCA FAIRLEY RANEY  

By 2002, residents of Utah should be able to apply for hard-to-get
elk-hunting licenses online. Drivers' license renewals and car registration
could be there too. 
In a move aimed at boosting the state's reputation as a high-tech center,
Governor Mike Leavitt last weekend signed the "Digital State Act," which
directs all state agencies to provide access to their services online
within three years. 
 
In addition to obtaining hunting and drivers' license renewals and car
registration, residents will be able to file income tax, sales tax and
court documents online, as well as submit applications for health,
unemployment and welfare benefits. Also, public schools are directed to
make "reasonable progress" toward allowing parents to e-mail teachers and
principals, and giving parents access to lesson plans and children's grades. 

"It's really just an acknowledgment of where we think the economy is
going," Leavitt said. "We think this makes us an attractive place." 

High-tech companies have a strong presence in Utah. Novell Inc., Iomega
Corp. and about 2,000 software companies are based there, along with a
major distribution center for Gateway 2000. Intel said this week that it
would build a research center in the state. 

Leavitt plans to call on high-tech companies to help reach the state's goal
of providing services online, and some partnership agreements between
government and industry are already in the works. No state money was
allocated to pay for agencies' online outreach. 

"We're not having state government build this," Leavitt said. 

The directive was well-received by the state's technology industry, which
pushed for the law. 

"We want to promote e-commerce," said Bruce Brown, chief technology officer
of iLumin Corp. in Orem, which develops secure Web transaction systems. "We
want to raise the level of trust so that you can buy and sell corporations
and cars online." 

The government's online service offerings would raise the level of trust,
and would be a great convenience as well, he said. 

"That would make life a lot easier," Brown said. "My car is in the shop
having its emissions checked right now, and I don't have time to mail [the
form] in by the end of the month." 

Some states already offer a few services online. Massachusetts, for
example, allows citizens to register vehicles and pay traffic tickets
online. But a proclamation like Utah's, with a three-year target, is
unusual. Of course, Utah has another reason for setting 2002 as the target
date: the Winter Olympics, which will be hosted by Salt Lake City. 

"We can use the Olympics to showcase it," Leavitt said. 

Setting up the technology may be the least of the problems the state
encounters in trying to meet the three-year goal. Experts said that the
social and policy issues that arise will likely be far greater. Planners
will have to consider the lack of equal access to the Internet among
residents and the issue of safeguarding personal data. 

"The more they start putting services up, the more people will start
asking, 'How much are you doing for the unwired?'" said C. Richard Neu, a
senior economist at the Rand Corp. who is conducting a study on the
increasing use of e-mail as a way for citizens to communicate with their
government. "Where does it stop? When there's a T-1 line going into every
nursing home?" 

One of the toughest obstacles to universal Internet access in Utah is
geography. While most of the state's two million residents live in urban
areas, some live in remote areas that have no local dial-up access to the
Internet. But the new law established a task force that will recommend
solutions to this problem. 

One of Utah's advantages is that more than 50 percent of the state's
households have computers. About three-fourths of state residents have
access to computers at school, home or work. 

Another potential problem is whether the data collected, including
financial and health information, would be secure. 

"Nothing is hack-proof, and if these databases are available over the
Internet, they can be hacked," said Paul M.A. Baker, national secretary of
the Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility and an assistant
professor in public policy at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. 

For example, he said, if someone gains access to drivers' license data,
they would be able to create false identities based on citizens' personal
information. 

Not all functions of Utah's government are set up for one-stop service. For
example, the renewal of a driver's license involves several agencies,
including the tax commission and the Department of Public Safety, while
some counties require vehicle emission reports as part of the process. 

David Moon, Utah's chief information officer, said that rules would have to
be rewritten to make it possible to offer some services online. 

"We don't have all the answers yet," Moon said. Of course, as the
coordinator of the state's efforts to put services online, Moon is assured
that his department will not run out of work any time soon. 

"We know what we're going to do after Y2K now," he said. 

Rebecca Fairley Raney at [log in to unmask] welcomes your comments and
suggestions.


 *Pages 1--5 from  C:WINDOWSDesktopdigital_state_brief.PDF*
Making Utah a 'Digital State' – Briefing Paper January 19, 1999 
Vision Statement 
By the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, we want to showcase Utah as the first
truly 'Digital State' by 
meeting the following broad goals: 


1. 'Webtone'--high-speed Internet access--available to every home and
business 
throughout the state. Promote the availability of affordable, "always on",
high-speed, high-capacity data services and Internet access, and the
digital infrastructure to support 


it, throughout the State. The technology to deliver this kind of
high-speed, high-bandwidth Internet access could include xDSL (Digital
Subscriber Line technology), 
cable modems, and wireless data services. 
2. Education: 'A college in every kitchen'--the equivalent of a community
college education in distance learning courses and services accessible
on-line to every home 
and student. 'Home school' has an entirely new connotation in the 21 st
Century– we can bring more of the home into the school as parents can check
on student's progress and 
consult with teachers via e-mail and video-conferencing, and we can bring
more of the school into the home, with access to online course work,
multimedia learning 
experiences, and supplementary materials on the Internet. 
3. Economic Development: a 'Digital Main Street' for every city and
community– wired and ready to help businesses and citizens participate in
the new digital economy. 
Each city would have in place a 'Chamber of Electronic Commerce', providing
businesses with access to the information, technology, resources and
training they need 
to do secure online banking and online commercial transactions. This
'Digital Main Street' could also include a virtual city hall, online
directories of local businesses, goods, 
and services, and the necessary infrastructure to allow non-profit
organizations and local businesses to participate in the digital economy. 


4. Government Services: An 'online smorgasbord' of state and local government 
services--delivered electronically and universally accessible to
constituents through a variety of channels: telephone, Internet, libraries,
public kiosks or service bureaus, etc. 


Government services such as filing, licensing, permitting, registration,
and payment processes will be available 24 hours a day--providing greater
access to government, 
reducing the cost of government, and improving the quality and availability
of service. Webtone will also enable the delivery of government, medical,
and educational services 
to remote areas electronically. 
1
Making Utah a Digital State --Key Points 
What is webtone? 
High-speed, high-bandwidth access to the Internet and online services,
delivered via xDSL, cable modem, and wireless data technology. 


1. Access -'webtone' in every home, school, and business 
< Create a digital telecommunications infrastructure that would allow every
home, school, and business in Utah the option of accessing affordable,
high-speed, high-bandwidth data services. 


< Provide a foundation of Internet access options in libraries, schools,
government service centers, etc., for those individuals who cannot access
the Internet from home or work. 
Why is it important? 
< 10 to 100 times faster access to the Internet and Internet-based commerce
and services --help to eliminate the 'World Wide Wait'. 


< Solving the 'last mile' problem is a key to being able to provide
high-end services and content to citizens and businesses– opening up
significant new opportunities for connectivity, 
telecommuting, telemedicine, distance learning, electronic commerce, etc. 
< Rich, multimedia information and fully interactive services need
high-speed, high-bandwidth data pipes. 


< Providing this kind of connectivity into every home, school, and business
will encourage the type of digital networks and infrastructure needed to
ensure economic prosperity in the future. 
< We want this type of access to the information highways of the 21 st
century to extend into less urban areas of our state, not just the Wasatch
Front. It will be key to their economic survival in 
the new millenium. 
< Creating this type of digital infrastructure will help alleviate other
growth-induced problems– as transactions are able to conducted readily and
securely online, as people are able to work from 
home, as students can access more educational opportunities online--it
reduces the need for people to get in a car and drive somewhere to conduct
those same transactions, thereby 
reducing traffic congestion, air pollution, and the costs associated with
building other infrastructures in our communities. In short, let's lay down
more fiber optics and less asphalt. 


How can we help accomplish the goal? 
< Encourage and incent telecommunications companies to deploy
high-bandwidth, high-speed data services and networks. This is not
something the state can build– it has to be built by the 
private-sector. 
< Work with telecommunications providers and Internet service providers to
accelerate the availability of high-speed Internet technologies like xDSL,
cable-modems, and wireless data 
services in Utah. 
< Help foster cooperation and partnership opportunities between government,
industry, and telecommunications providers to accelerate build-out of
digital infrastructure and ensure that 
2
these networks reach into more remote and rural areas of our state. 
2. Education -complete college level education available online 
< Have available online content, curriculum and services needed for a
complete college level education, including complete degree programs. 


< Bring more of the home into the school, and more of the school into the
home. Ensure availability of online services– such as registration,
progress reporting, video-conferencing, etc.--
that promote increased connectivity and interaction between teachers,
students, and parents. 
< Enhance the digital network infrastructure needed to deliver integrated
voice, video, and data into our schools and homes. This kind of rich,
multimedia delivery of information is critical to 
providing effective online instruction. 
Why is it important? 
< Technology can play a key role in increasing the quality of education
without dramatically increasing the cost of education. 


< There is nothing that Internet-based technologies are better at than
fostering the sharing and communication of information– certainly a major
component of education. 
< Distance learning technologies will extend world-class educational
opportunities to people that might otherwise struggle to obtain them– such
as in remote rural areas or when they are unable 
because of work or schedules to participate in more traditional education
opportunities. 
How can help accomplish the goal? 
< Continue providing leadership and resources to important distance
learning initiatives, such as Western Governor's University, the Utah
Electronic Community College, and the Utah Electronic 
High School. 
< Through the Utah Education Network and other efforts, coordinate the
development on online content and curriculum by state educational
institutions, and facilitate the shared use of these 
resources. 
< Provide ongoing funding needed to deliver rich multimedia online content
to homes and schools, including support for integrating the voice, video,
and data needed to provide fully interactive 
educational content over the Internet. 
< Provide needed funds to convert public television broadcast networks to
digital television, as required by the Federal Communications Commission. 


3. Economic Development -create a 'Digital Main Street' in every community 
< Establish a 'Chamber of Electronic Commerce' in every community--provide
the necessary resources, training, and services to allow our businesses and
industries to effectively compete in 
the 'digital economy'. 
< Ensure easy access by citizens and businesses to secure online financial
transactions and opportunities to buy and sell goods and services over the
Web. 
3
Why is it important? 
< Ability to compete in the digital economy will be a key to economic
success for our businesses, our industries, and our state in the 21 st
century. 


< World will be reaching in to our consumers– we need to make sure we are
making the world our marketplace as well. High-speed Internet access will
allow you to buy Scottish hand-made rugs 
from your recliner, and allow someone in Scotland to buy Utah sandstone
rock art or Cache Valley cheese while relaxing on their hand-made rug. 


< 'It's the E-conomy... ' – biggest impact of revolutionary new digital
technologies and connectivity will be on our markets. It is critical that
businesses in our state be able to participate in those 
new and changing markets. 
How can we accomplish the goal? 
< Local and state government organizations can play a role in sharing
information, providing training, aggregating demand, identifying
opportunities, and securing educational resources. 


< Ensure state and community economic development resources are adequately
focused on this issue. 
< Promote the development of community efforts and private/ public
partnerships to host online directories of businesses, goods, services, and
resources in the community. 


4. Government Services--offer a full menu of electronically delivered
services 
and information from state and local government organizations 


< Make available secure electronic transactions with state
government--online filing, applications, renewals, licensing, permits,
registrations, and searches for information. 


< Ensure government is interacting with its suppliers electronically to
reduce cost of transactions and improve efficiencies. 
< Eliminate the paper--conduct both internal and external government
processes online and reduce the paperwork and paper-based transactions in
government processes. 
Why is it important? 
< Increase efficiency of government operations 
< Increase level of customer service from government– allow access to
online services 24 hours a day, every day of the year. 


< Reduce cost and effort required for citizens and businesses to interact
with state and local governments. 
How can we accomplish the goal? 
< Require online delivery of key government services by 2002. 
< Harness private sector experience, innovation, and resources in applying
electronic commerce technologies to government transactions. 
4
< Focus additional effort and resources on making the state's web site a
customer-oriented portal to government services and information. 
< Move state procurement and purchasing systems to electronic transactions. 
< Develop secure state intranet to enable moving internal processes online. 
5


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