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TechnologyDaily Mobile
Little Portal On The Prairie
by Maureen Sirhal
South Dakota has moved to consolidate more than 1,100 state forms onto a one-stop Web site, Gov. Bill Janklow announced Thursday. The new initiative, South Dakota Service Direct, aims to ease the ability of citizens and businesses to obtain forms for state government services.
"The goal frankly is to reduce the hassle for people," Janklow said in a statement. "This is a no-brainer. This makes it a lot easier and a lot faster for people."
The site provides links to information on each form, as well as a downloadable copy for printing and mailing. Several forms also can be completed online and sent electronically to state agencies. Users can search the forms by the type of service, the agency name or keyword.
Developed by the state's Bureau of Information Technology (BIT) at a cost of $200,000, the portal offers forms from the agencies controlled by the governor's office, the secretary of state and the state treasurer. BIT also is working with the judicial and legislative branches of the state government to integrate those forms and publications into the site later this year.
New Jersey Considers Biometrics Guidelines
A New Jersey lawmaker has introduced legislation that would mandate guidelines for using or distributing individual biometric identifiers, such as fingerprints or retinal scans.
Assemblywoman Joan Quigley, who chairs the chamber's Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committee, introduced the bill, A. 2448, which would establish civil penalties for the misuse of biometrics. Under the measure, no entity could commercially use a biometric identifier without an individual's explicit consent.
The measure also would prohibit the sale of identifiers without permission. Government entities relying on them would have to follow certain guidelines for managing the information. Firms or individuals that violate the statute could face fines up to $25,000 per incident.
Joseph Atick, president of the biometrics firm Identix, applauded the measure in a statement this week. "These are precisely the types of provisions that Identix and the industry have long supported," he said. "As industry leaders, we are strongly encouraged by the introduction of this piece of legislation and the impact it will have on the adoption of biometrics."
Giving Weight To The 'Security' In Social Security
California is considering guidelines for the use of Social Security numbers in an effort to help consumers guard against identity theft.
Gov. Gray Davis on Monday announced that the Consumer Affairs Department's Office of Privacy Protection will issue requirements as part of a new state law. Enacted in 2001, the law prohibits the public posting or display of Social Security numbers, the printing of the numbers on ID cards or badges, or the transmission of the numbers over the Internet unless the connections are secure. It also bans the use of the numbers as passwords for Web sites.
"The Social Security number has a unique status as a privacy risk," Davis said. "It's the key to the vault for identity thieves. That's why this law is so important. It limits the public display of the numbers and starts to remove them from general circulation."
As of July 1, all businesses must comply with the law's requirements for every new customer. Business must only change their practices for existing customers as requested. Healthcare providers and related businesses must incorporate changes for all customers by July 2005.
Michigan Funds Six New 'Smart Zones'
In an effort to boost the technology industry and training to use technology, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation this week awarded grants to create six new "smart zones" designed to accelerate business in various regions around the state.
Totaling $2.5 million, the grants fund groups that will offer technology assessments, business-planning services, venture-capital preparation, and management recruitment and mentoring to area companies. The following communities received grants: Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti, $500,000; Grand Rapids, $300,000; Houghton, $500,000; Kalamazoo, $550,000; Mt. Pleasant, $250,000; and Woodward Technology Corridor, $400,000.
The groups submitted their proposals in April and June. Under the smart-zone initiative, which began in April 2001, communities must match state funding and must have a business incubator within 10 miles of a university campus. Since the project's inception, 19 firms have taken advantage of the services offered by the business incubators.
Internet Firm Pulled Over For License Ads
Michigan Attorney General Jennifer Granholm is pursuing legal action against a California-based company over its allegedly misleading advertisements for international driver's licenses.
Granholm announced last week that Sharpton Internet Solutions violated Michigan consumer law by misleading consumers into thinking that the licenses it advertises on its Web site serve as a legal substitute for valid, state-issued licenses. This week, Granholm filed a notice of intended action against the firm.
Sharpton erroneously posted the U.N. Convention on International Road Traffic as its basis for offering the international licenses, Granholm charged. But the convention actually prohibits the issuance of international licenses to people without valid state driver's licenses.
In Michigan, a person with revoked or suspended driving privileges may be arrested for driving with an international license.
Va. Governor Taps A Top Tech Adviser
Virginia Gov. Mark Warner has appointed John Backus, chairman emeritus of the Northern Virginia Technology Council and managing partner of Draper Atlantic Venture Capital Fund, as co-chairman of the Virginia Research and Technology Advisory Commission.
Warner formed the commission to promote technology-based economic growth by enhancing university, industry, and nonprofit research and improving the business climate for technology firms. The commission intends to increase the research abilities of the state' s public universities and foster a better link between those universities and the private sector.
The commission members also advise Warner, state officials and legislators on matters related to research and technology development.
Security In The South
Homeland security concerns likely will top a range of issues that the nation's Southern governors plan to address when they gather next month in New Orleans.
The 68th annual meeting of the Southern Governors' Association from Aug. 25-27 affords the region's leaders the chance to address issues relating to homeland security, education and health care for children, and conservation. Allan Bromley, a professor of Nuclear Physics at Yale University and one-time science and technology adviser to former President George Bush, will address the governors.
Microsoft's Ballmer To Address N.Y. Tech Group
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will be on hand next Wednesday at the one-year anniversary celebration of NPower NY, the New York arm of the NPower Network, which provides low-cost technology assistance to nonprofit groups across the country.
NPower NY has helped homeless organizations devise technology strategies to enhance services. Over the last year, the center has helped the Sunset Park Family Health Center create a Web-based solution for managing its healthcare services to undeserved areas in Brooklyn.
NPower NY also played a major role in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center that devastated much of lower Manhattan. The center distributed more than $500,000 in technology assistance and equipment to more than 60 nonprofits that were serving victims of the tragedy.
Ballmer will address the role of technology in enhancing the vital services that nonprofits offer.
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