He said 29 state bodies had provided their members with laptop or PC access in the chamber during the past year, and many had Internet access and e-mail. It was the third hearing since Dreier established the 21st Century Project in 1996 to assess the impact of technology on the legislative process and to recommend ways to change. Officials from the three states said they supported the use of IT in the legislative process, but they also voiced some concerns about the tools. The Minnesota Senate has installed laptops for all the members and views technology as one of the best ways to interact with constituents, said state Sen. Steve Kelley. Minnesota state senators' laptops have e-mail functions that enable constituents to voice their opinions on a proposed bill or amendment while it is being debated on the senate floor, he said.
Any citizen now has the same kind of access that lobbyists have had in the past.
The Internet shouldn't be a substitute for other means of communication. In Florida's legislature in 1991, computers brought a number of innovations to each member's desk, including the display of amendments, research tools, and messaging. But it also forever changed the decorum on the floor, said Tom Tedcastle, general counsel for the Florida House of Representatives. Technology speeded up the legislative process significantly, which resulted in earlier filing deadlines, and provided greater public access, Tedcastle said. However, the messaging feature on legislators' computers has been removed for two main reasons, Tedcastle said.