Tennessee General Assembly Web Site Named Best in the Country

• Press Release
• Source: NIC Inc.
• On 8:00 am EDT, Thursday October 1, 2009

NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) has honored the Tennessee General Assembly with its Online Democracy Award for the best legislative Web site in the country.

Related Quotes

Symbol	Price	Change
EGOV	8.60	-0.18

{"s" : "egov","k" : "c10,l10,p20,t10","o" : "","j" : ""}

The annual award recognizes a legislature, legislative chamber or caucus whose Web site stands out for making democracy user-friendly.

The Tennessee Web site, www.capitol.tn.gov, stood out for its ease of navigation, depth of content and openness, and availability of information to the public. Key features of Tennessee's Web site that contributed to this year's award include:

* Prominent educational resources;

* Well-organized information;

* A simple, fresh design;

* Integration of archived streaming video clips with agendas and bill information.

“In this new era of online information, we as legislators must continue to give Tennesseans the ability to see their government at work,” said Speaker Emeritus James Naifeh. “This new website will give people improved access and a better view of what we do here in Nashville.”

Both chambers of the Tennessee General Assembly, along with the help of Tennessee Legislative Information Services Department, studied ways to improve communication with constituents via the Internet. A survey was commissioned asking Web site users what they wanted from the Tennessee General Assembly Web site. Hundreds of individual ideas were submitted and many were used in the final version.

“These changes continue the evolution of making our government more open and transparent,” said Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey. “This Web site will give the people of Tennessee a better opportunity to know their legislators, follow important bills and let them be a part of the process.”

The new Web site was created by NICUSA-TN. NICUSA-TN designs, manages, and markets eGovernment services and Web sites on behalf of state and local governments. They partner with government leaders and establish local offices to provide customized solutions for each government we serve.

The Online Democracy Award is sponsored by two of NCSL's staff organizations-the National Association of Legislative Information Technology (NALIT) and the Legislative Information and Communications Staff (LINCS).

NCSL is a bipartisan organization that serves the legislators and staffs of the states, commonwealths and territories. It provides research, technical assistance and opportunities for policymakers to exchange ideas on the most pressing state issues and is an effective and respected advocate for the interests of the states in the American federal system.

About NIC

NIC Inc. (NASDAQ: EGOV) is the nation’s leading provider of official government portals, online services, and secure payment processing solutions. The company’s innovative eGovernment services help reduce costs and increase efficiencies for government agencies, citizens, and businesses across the country. NIC provides eGovernment solutions for more than 3,000 federal, state, and local agencies that serve 97 million people in the United States. Additional information is available at http://www.nicusa.com.

NIC
David Dahle, 615-313-0327
david@egovtn.org