This article is from Cal-Tax Digest, published
by the California Taxpayers' Association.
Cal-Tax Home Page | About Cal-Tax | Subscribe

California e-Government: Catching and Riding the Wave
By Ron Roach

Somewhat over a year ago, Governor Gray Davis, after one year in office, was embarrassed. The issue was e-Government, and he didn't even have an e-mail address for citizens to send him praise or criticism. On his flank, Secretary of State Bill Jones was launching a rival e-Government initiative.

Governor Davis' then-fledgling administration was getting sub-par appraisals for its minimal efforts to get state government to catch and ride the technological wave and make life easier for those who have computer access and must deal with government.

That was then. This is now. Overshadowed by the energy crisis in his State of the State address in January, the governor's unveiling of a new and improved California government website - http://my.ca.gov - garnered relatively few headlines.

Twenty-one months into his term, the governor issued an executive order last September that created an e-Government director to take charge of policy direction and coordinate efforts of the Department of Information Technology (DOIT) and the Office of Planning and Research. He required departments to submit e-Government plans to DOIT, and he ordered the creation of a statewide, one-stop website, or "portal."

On January 8, he described the fruits of what seemed on the surface to be a 100-day crash program to put California on the e-Government map. "Today, with the launch of our new My California homepage, we are using web technology to personalize government in a way no other state has ever done," he said. "With advice from the best minds in the Silicon Valley, we have developed an Internet site that makes it simple to register cars, check up on schools' academic performance, get live pictures of our state parks, and much more. Our seamless, state-of-the-art web portal, 'my.ca.gov,' is your online link to California."

Checking out the site, which will continue to evolve as more services are added, the visitor can get more than details of the governor's 2001-02 budget proposal, or read the State of the State address. That kind of material had been available on-line - along with video of his speech - on the governor's webpage.

But that kind of stuff doesn't move governors to the head of the class when analyzed by various organizations around the country that measure performance, such as Governing magazine, or California's watchdog Little Hoover Commission. The LHC reported last November that "California - the birthplace of the technological revolution - is nearly last among the states in harnessing technology to better serve the public."

A Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) report on e-Government, issued in January but prepared with awareness of the governor's e-Government launching, concluded that California was "on par with most other states with respect to implementation of e-Government " It said 25 states had not implemented any e-Government systems and California is among the 25 that had at least one such system. It noted that Utah's Legislature mandated that every state agency have some form of e-Government service available by 2002.

A recent Governing magazine ranking of the states gave the Davis Administration a B- grade for high-tech performance. Two years earlier, the grade was C+.

It has been noted that California state government in the 1980s and 1990s had been involved in very expensive - and failed - attempts to install computer systems at the Department of Motor Vehicles and elsewhere. Having had their fingers burned so badly must have caused bureaucrats to think twice about jumping into what may have been perceived as a burial ground for once-promising careers. Maybe that explains why California was not on the leading edge as many feel it should have been.

Ron Roach is communications director at Cal-Tax and editor of Cal-Tax Digest.

What can "My California" (a.k.a. my.ca.gov) do for you? Plenty. There are features that relate to taxes. You can now check your tax refund status and you can register to pay state taxes for domestic workers. You can also link to the Franchise Tax Board and check out how to eFile your taxes.

Also, you can reserve a park campsite, check road conditions, register your vehicle, and renew your license if you're a registered nurse, and more.

You can "visit" a state park by watching a video of elephant seals at Ano Nuevo park. Making a movie and you need some assistance from the California Highway Patrol? The California Film Commission is on the site, providing information and forms to claim a chunk of the $15 million set aside to reimburse filmmakers for costs of using public services.

The e-Business Center: a work in progress. Click there and find that the goal is to create a "one-stop" government portal where businesses can easily access government information and services through the Internet 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The lone eServices pilot on the page is the license-renewal program for registered nurses. In the works (coming this spring) is a program involving the Department of Pesticide Regulation to allow licensed agricultural pest control advisors, businesses and aircraft pilots the ability to notify counties where they intend to operate.

Studies to help develop the e-Business Center are scheduled for completion this spring, including a Business Needs Assessment Survey. This telephone survey of a random sampling of businesses is supposed to help decide what services should be provided on the Internet. It also will address Internet security and privacy issues. Another study is a "broad overview" of 21 state agencies to ascertain what the priority services are and how to integrate them into the e-Business Center Portal. A third study is to examine the current CalJOBS system and see how it can be enhanced through the e-Business Center Portal.

About $13 million was budgeted in the current fiscal year to develop California e-Government projects, including $4.6 million for the e-Business Center project and $5.1 million to redesign the state's webpage, enhance the governor's e-mail system and upgrade the supporting network. The governor's proposed budget for 2001-02 would spend $3 million to continue e-Business Center pilot projects.

Other State eGov't. The governor's program is not without competition within state government. Secretary of State Bill Jones has won praise for his e-Government efforts, putting elections and campaign finance information on the Internet. He also was out front with a proposal in January 2000 to create a framework for a single Internet site where he proposed to have 90 percent of state agencies involved by 2002. (Editor's Note: see the February 2000 Cal-Tax Digest for Mr. Jones' article on his e-Government strategy for California.)

On February 2, Mr. Jones announced the opening of the "California Business Portal," describing it as a "one-stop-Internet-shop" for business requirements. It is at the secretary's Internet site: www.ss.ca.gov. What you'd need to know to start a business in California is provided by a few clicks of the mouse, and it also provides directions to business resources such as state and local chambers of commerce and state tax agencies.

"We have included business filing requirements and various state forms on our website for years, but the new California Business Portal combines resources from several government agencies and the private sector to provide a convenient one-stop shop for new and old businesses alike," Mr. Jones said.

Studies to help develop the e-Business Center are scheduled for completion this spring, including a Business Needs Assessment Survey.

E-Government taxpayer benefits. As Anna Brannen's California Legislative Analyst report noted, there are significant taxpayer benefits in the successful implementation of e-Government. Done correctly, e-Government should reduce costs and increase efficiency and/or effectiveness. The state might want to consider reducing some fees for services that can be performed more efficiently - passing on the savings to the consumer.

It is important, Ms. Brannen wrote, that proposals include reengineering. "Simply automating the current state business process will in some cases only perpetuate current inefficiencies and ineffectiveness. Therefore, we recommend that the Legislature only fund those e-Government proposals that are the result of a reengineering study that includes not only the automation solution, but also changes in the way the state conducts business."

A potential impediment to e-Government is the clout of public employee unions. They cannot be allowed to resist modernization, even if it means fewer dues-paying members. Existing state employees should be offered training to transition into jobs that require high-tech skills.

Who "owns" and runs e-Government? Can e-Government be used to political advantage by the governor or the secretary of state? Of course, everything on any government website is going to present a positive image of government. Blatant political promotions appear to be taboo, for they would be trashed by the news media as a questionable use of tax-funded government property.

However, it appears that the natural rivalry that exists among officeholders, including potential political foes, also exists in e-Government. At least on the surface it appears there could be better coordination of websites. The secretary of state's site has a link to the California site, but it merely says, "California." The my.ca.gov site links to the secretary of state's site but not in a prominent way. To get there, you have to surf through a "Government" site that lists all constitutional officers, where websites could also be found for Controller Kathleen Connell and Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante, etc. There's also a lengthy directory of government agencies.

At some point, various officeholders should get on the same page. A website authority might be the ultimate answer, such as that which operates the website for Texas. Guess what? No photo of the governor appears on that homepage, at least as of this writing.

A popular site. California's e-Government director, Arun Baheti, told the San Francisco Chronicle that the website ranks behind the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Postal Service as the busiest government site in the world, and, once all 120 government departments are up and running within the year, he expects tens of millions of users.

Rave reviews. The reviews of changes since those rankings occurred have been positive, according to reactions gathered by the governor's office. "When it is fully implemented, 'My California' will have the potential to revolutionize the access that citizens and businesses have to their state government," said Doug Taylor, global director of Deloitte Consulting's Public Sector Practice.

"California is leading state governments with my.ca.gov. No other state offers the same amount of operability and convenience while linking as many government agencies as the governor's portal," said Martin Brauns, president and CEO of Interwoven. He said his company's contribution to the system offers "unparalleled easy content entry across state agencies which leads to an enjoyable Web experience for California's and other site visitors."

Cisco Systems President and CEO John Chambers: "California is positioned to show technology leadership with 'eCalifornia.' A first-rate infrastructure is key. My team was especially pleased with the governor's approach to developing an enterprise-wide architecture that agencies can leverage. The application software and network infrastructure models have been proven in the private sector, and we believe they will serve the state well."

The LAO's Ms. Brannen: "The new California portal is quite nice. I use it It has a search engine that actually works."

And, by the way, Governor Davis has an e-mail address: governor@governor.ca.gov.