State’s Web site ranks among best in nation

Tennessee.gov moved up in the rankings from 11th place in the same survey in 2006.

‘One of the things we’ve sought to do is improve access to state government and its services, and Tennessee.gov is a great tool for Tennesseans who need to renew a driver’s license or pay business taxes online,’ said Gov. Phil Bredesen. ‘This ranking confirms we’re moving in the right direction and we’re committed to continuing to expand online capabilities to provide citizens with easier access to state services.’

Visiting Tennessee’s Web site allows users to access state laws and regulations, locate the nearest hospital, renew driver’s licenses, perform TBI background checks, apply for unemployment services, look for information about neighborhood sex offenders and hundreds of other services.

A couple of recently-added online features contributed to the state’s high ranking, according to Tennessee’s chief information officer Mark Bengel, including:

‘ A Law and Justice section providing national and state AMBER alerts and allowing users to search for felony, meth and sex offenders in their local areas.

‘ Tennessee Maps, a tool that allows users to pinpoint local schools, libraries, government offices and a host of other services.

‘The broad range of information and services provided in an easy-to-use, one-stop-shopping approach has been our driving vision,’ Bengel said. ‘Online services are a true win-win, saving tax dollars while making it easier than ever for citizens to access government information and services.’

A team of researchers from the Taubman Center for Public Policy at Brown University analyzed 1,487 state Web sites (or an average of 30 sites per state). Their evaluation was based on a long list of criteria, including the presence of various electronic features, such as online publications, databases, audio and video clips, disability access, as well as measures of privacy and security policy, as well as the presence and number of online services.

The survey found that although citizens are being asked to shoulder more of the cost of providing online services, 86 percent of state and federal Web sites have services that are fully executable online.

The Brown University study, an annual analysis also found that the federal portal USA.gov and the Department of Agriculture are the most highly rated federal sites.