August 17, 2007
New Jersey Brings Home Top Legislative Website Award
DENVER - The New Jersey Legislature took home the award for the nation's top legislative website last week during the National Conference of State Legislatures' 2007 Legislative Summit in Boston.
NCSL's Online Democracy Award is given each year to a legislature, legislative chamber or caucus whose website stands out for making democracy user-friendly.
New Jersey's website, http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/, stood out for its ease of navigation, depth of content and openness and availability of information for the public. Key features of New Jersey's website that contributed to this year's award include:
- Live, real-time webcasts of legislative proceedings;
- A free electronic subscription service which allows particiapnts to tailor bill requests to their needs and notifies them when a chosen bill's status changes;
- An education page directed to citizens young and old;
- An e-mail option which allows constituents to communicate directly with legislators; and
- Historical information about the legislature and state capitol.
The Online Democracy Award is sponsored by two of NCSL's staff organizations - the National Association of Legislative Information Technology (NALIT) and the Legislative Information and Communications Staff (LINCS).
Previous winners of the NCSL Online Democracy award include the legislatures in Utah (le.utah.gov) and Minnesota (www.leg.mn).
NCSL is a bipartisan organization that serves the legislators and staffs of the states, commonwealths and territories. It provides research, technical assistance and opportunities for policymakers to exchange ideas on the most pressing state issues and is an effective and respected advocate for the interests of the states in the American federal system.
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