New features and functionality help citizens stay in touch with legislature in real time
Tennessee’s 109th General Assembly was greeted this year with a sleek new capitol.tn.gov website, packed with more features and functionality to enhance transparency and interactivity with citizens.
Republican Senate Speaker Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey and House Speaker Beth Harwell, said the redesign is meant to make state government “more open, more transparent and customer-friendly.”
One of the most significant features of the redesign on the main page is the real time display of each day’s sessions and a list of those upcoming. Clicking one of the session names launches the streaming video area for that committee, where On-Demand video from previous sessions can also be viewed, which helps site visitors follow the progression of legislation.
Another important addition to the site is a visual indicator of where a bill is in the process of becoming a law. The bill history page now more clearly shows when a bill moves between the Senate and House, making it easier for citizens to understand what is taking place with legislation that they are watching.
One of the highlights of the new website is its new modern and mobile-friendly design. With the increasing use of devices of various sizes the new design has been optimized for viewing on a range of screens. It uses a responsive Web design approach to creating Web pages that “respond to,” or resize, based on the type of device that is being used, whether a desktop monitor, a laptop, a tablet, or a smartphone. A responsively designed page adapts to the layout of the viewing environment by using fluid, proportion-based design grids, flexible images, and browser information.
In addition, the redesign brings a few new enhancements to searching and tracking bills. The site now provides a single box on each page for searching either legislation or site content, and the My Bills area of the site now allows for tracking an unlimited number of bills per user.
The redesign project began last summer with both chambers of the Tennessee General Assembly and Tennessee Legislative Information Services. Tennessee Legislative IT Director Vinay Dattu, Senate Chief Clerk Russell Humphrey, and House Chief Clerk Joe McCord executed the project set forth by both Speakers of the House and Senate. It was designed and developed by NIC, Inc., Tennessee’s eGovernment partner since 2000.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Kelly Berg
Quelle/Source: Business Wire, 10.03.2015
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