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E-Signatures In The Sunflower State
by Maureen Sirhal
Citizens in Kansas can avoid long lines at state agencies for services thanks to an initiative that Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh is spearheading. The state this week announced that it has awarded a multi-year contract to the Internet security firm VeriSign for e-signature services that will allow agencies to automate transactions over the Web.
State employees, and eventually citizens, will be able to obtain digital certificates to verify identities when they send documents or e-mails to state agencies. VeriSign will act as a utility by enabling clients to use the technology known as public-key infrastructure to authenticate that people are who they say they are online.
The initiative is an outgrowth of the Information Network of Kansas (INK), a public-private partnership that formed 10 years ago to develop electronic public records. The group provides grants and other resources to help facilitate online services.
INK allocated the funds for the first three years of the project, which will cost roughly $100,000 in the first year and $40,000 each year thereafter. The digital-certificate system will not be funded through tax dollars, Thornburgh said; it is designed to be self-sustaining and will operate from fees that users and states agencies will pay for their digital identities.
"We are building one statewide infrastructure to be adopted by all the different entities," Thornburgh said of the collaborative effort among 15 state agencies. Officials developed policies and standards to ensure that cities and counties can integrate into the system.
Thornburgh said his office will implement the program slowly, beginning in March, to ensure its integrity and accuracy. "What we will see is a pyramid deployment," he said. "We are starting with a couple of smaller deployments ...until finally it reaches out over X period of time."
VeriSign will provide roughly 300 certificates over the next eight weeks to groups and individual associated with programs at the state's Treasury Department, including an e-lending program that provides banks and lenders with short-term funds. Eventually, the e-signature program can be tailored to accommodate millions of users. But Thornburgh said the state will add more capacity and services to the systems on a step-by-step basis, when a need is identified.
Kansas is showing a lot of leadership by deploying a statewide system, said Barry Leffew, vice president for VeriSign's public sector. It is "setting the direction" for states and localities to work together to provide online services.
New York Seeks To Lure Tech Firms
As many states consider freezing their investments in information technology to ease budget concerns, New York Gov. George Pataki has reaffirmed his commitment to providing tax breaks and business-development incentives to lure high-tech industries to his state.
New York still faces an estimated $2 billion budget shortfall in fiscal 2004 as a result of the economic downturn and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City. But Pataki emphasized that tax cuts will be the key to New York's recovery.
"While other states raise taxes, let us out-compete any state and continue to create new jobs by maintaining New York's eight-year record as the tax-cutting capital of America," he said. "In doing so, we must pay special attention to the needs of the new high-tech economy."
Pataki attributed state initiatives to seed research and development for industries like nanotechnology and bioinformatics with the infusion of more than $1 billion into the state's economy over the last few years.
While many states are slashing aid for high-tech ventures, Pataki pledged to fully fund New York's Centers of Excellence, which leverage research at area universities and academic institutions with investments from the state and tech firms such as IBM and SEMATECH, an international consortium of semiconductor makers.
Pataki stressed that the state's revenue woes are not insurmountable. "We simply must spend less money," he said. "It is what we did in 1995 and in 1996. There were dire predictions then, but our finances soon improved and our economy boomed."
In his proposed fiscal 2004 budget, Pataki called for a new high-tech tax credit to build upon the state's success in attracting technology firms. Instead of reducing aid for economic development, he proposed a cut in the state workforce and lower spending on programs like Medicare and other social programs.
Pataki also stressed the need of state lawmakers to seize its portion of money from the national tobacco settlement of the late 1990s.
California Panel Urges Education About Piracy
A California legislative panel approved a resolution on Wednesday condemning the growth in online piracy and urging widespread education on the issue.
Members of the Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism and Internet Media Committee in the California Assembly unanimously approved a bill, H.R. 5, that would encourage parents to educate their children about online piracy and tell them that illegally downloading copyrighted materials, such as songs and movies, is the same as stealing them from stores.
The resolution also would urge companies and educational institutions to initiate policies aimed at curbing the downloading of protected works on their high-speed networks and guarding themselves against liability for copyright violations.
Although the resolution has no legal weight, committee Chairwoman Rebecca Cohn, the Democrat who sponsored the measure, said it would send a strong message. "This resolution is the first step in a long-term solution needed to govern Internet piracy," she said in a statement.
A Glass Half Full For IT Spending
The government technology research firm Input has added its voice to the ongoing debate over whether state deficits are reducing IT spending. The firm said this week that despite budget deficits in nearly every state, local governments will be pouring millions of dollars into security-related technology projects.
"Homeland security drives many of the most mission-critical projects that will be moving forward this year," Meredith Luttner, Input's manager of state and local market development services, said in a statement. "States cannot afford to put programs that are critical to constituent safety ... on hold."
Luttner acknowledged that spending will vary state to state. Still, in Virginia, New Jersey and California, she said homeland security technologies will be a spending priority.
State, Local Officials Plan Washington Events
The National League of Cities will convene its annual Congressional City Conference in Washington on March 21, and the event will culminate in a national lobbying day for local leaders on Capitol Hill. The group plans to push for federal investments into cities to boost their economies and support homeland security projects.
The National Association of Secretaries of State, meanwhile, will hold its winter meeting in Washington beginning Feb. 21. During the three-day meeting, the group will feature discussions on how to implement new federal elections laws.
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