ASI-April 2000
E-Communications with Constituents
Overview & Presenters:
Using e-mail and the Internet to communicate with constituents is no longer a choice. Constituents expect legislatures and legislators to quickly respond to e-mail and to have helpful, useful and easy-to-use Web pages. This session provided practical tips for managing all aspects of e-communication with constituents. (Sponsored by the Communications and Information Policy Committee and Legislative Effectiveness Committees)
Moderator :
Senator Bob Jauch, Wisconsin, Chair, Communications and Information Policy Committee
Presenters :
Senator Debra Bowen, California, Vice-Chair, Communications and Information Policy Committee
Delegate Joe T. May, Virginia, Vice-Chair, Communications and Information Policy Committee
Senator David Steele, Utah
Sharon Crouch, Systems Director, House of Delegates, Virginia
Summary:
Senator Bob Jauch started the session with an overview of the importance of electronic communication. Nowhere is it more important than in government. E-communication allows us to reach out in phenomenal ways, a chance to make closer and more intimate connections between legislators and citizens. There may be pitfalls and perils, but the opportunities are enormous. We have to recognize that the use of technology gives us a tremendous chance to reestablish credibility with the public.
Senator Debra Bowen has been active in issues relating to open government and citizen access to information. She stressed the need to approach e-communication from a practical standpoint. In California, every legislator who wants an e-mail account and a Web page can get it. With e-mail, you don't know the source of your messages, whether you are dealing with a constituent. She uses an auto reply (immediate response message) that asks for a name and address and explains that she will respond first to constituents. With e-mail, people often expect immediate responses, and you have to clearly tell people what the "rules of engagement" are, the expectations. Senator Bowen also uses separate e-mail accounts, with one general account, one for ongoing work and relationships that don't need to be sorted and filtered, and one for campaign-related mail. She also discussed the California policy not to allow a link to external e-mail for laptops used during floor sessions. This would have allowed lobbyists to send messages straight to the members on the floor.
As to Web pages, Senator Bowen links to government sites but not private sites. She did not want any appearance of favoritism. She has links to all branches and levels of government. Her committee Web page links to the legislative information system, allowing people to get information and background on issues before the committee. There is the possibility to do list servs and conduct surveys through the site, although there are some legal questions they have to answer before they do some of this. She concluded by saying that e-mail is a great tool, great for democracy, but understand that expectations for responsiveness will rise.
Delegate Joe May traced the recent history with e-mail and Web pages in Virginia. The amount of legislative traditional mail is dropping. Delegate May hires computer literate staff and uses them to filter through his e-mail. They still have lots of face-to-face, phone and fax contacts, but e-mail has opened things up tremendously. He also uses video link to connect back to his business during the session.
Delegate May described Virginia's system, which allows delegates to get e-mail while on the House floor. A crucial point is that the delegates can control what comes through to them while on the floor. He uses the laptop on the floor to do research and communicate to fellow legislators. They're still learning about what they can and can't do.
Delegate May identified some problem areas. There are a substantial number of computer viruses out there, although the anti-virus programs help a lot. There have also been problems around identity theft. However, overall, e-communication with constituents is a very good experience.
Senator David Steele used an acronym to underscore how to use e-communication. All of these tools should be used for public service, and the service stands for:
S - Survey
E - Educate
R - Referral
V - Value
I - Inform
C - Communicate
E - Edit
Surveying means that you have the opportunity to gather information about opinions. For education, you must use e-mail and Web pages to teach, to explain about positions. It is a unique opportunity to educate without outside editing. For referral, you have to recognize that you don't know everything and that you may help people most by linking them to important services. You always have to look at the value added by a home page. You can defend your positions, as it is valuable for your constituents to understand the basis for your opinions. The biggest job of all is to inform, and this gives you a chance to inform in ways and at speeds never before available. For communication, you have to think of the full range of voice and video. Lastly, you must maintain your site through editing, and keep it current.
Sharon Crouch described the range of options they give Virginia legislators. They help legislators respond quickly and effectively to e-mail. She also described a program on the Internet site that allows members to identify constituent responders from others. Their chamber automation systems allows legislators to follow the calendar, see the applicable bills and even attach e-mails to bills. The approach is to allow legislators to sort and keep information in a way that is useful for legislative deliberation. Sharon also described how her agency helped legislators deal with massive inappropriate e-mail responses (spamming) and identify theft. She stressed that they had a variety of possible approaches, and that each legislator could design the approach best for him or her. She sees all sorts of excellent opportunities coming. Legislators could set up chat rooms with school classes, corresponding with the teacher. Town meetings by video are pretty easy to do. They are experimenting with voice recognition systems and content-based auto replies. Also, there are tremendous opportunities where you can integrate all the various e-communication tools.
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