 |
New York State Cuts Red Tape and Expenses for Citizens
via Lotus-based E-government Services
New York Governor's Office of Regulatory Reform Delivers Online Permit Service
Online-Service für Gewerbe-/Geschäftsgenehmigungen
Washington, DC, October 30, 2000 -- Speaking at the Lotus Global Government Forum today,
David S. Bradley, acting director of the New York Governor's Office of Regulatory Reform (GORR),
introduced New York's online permitting and licensing (OPAL) initiative, an e-government service
that offers businesses of all sizes a fast and effective way to obtain information and apply for
business permits via the Internet. OPAL, based on Lotus Notes and Domino collaborative software,
streamlines the exchange of information among multiple government agencies, allowing citizens to
apply for multiple business permits with a single online application.
In the past, business applicants dealt with a cumbersome and bureaucratic permit system that
forced them to fill out multiple applications in order to share identical business information with
several state agencies. With OPAL, applicants can fill out one application online to be used by
several permit issuing agencies such as the Department of Labor, Department of Tax and Finance,
and the Department of Motor Vehicles. Through the OPAL application's use of Notes and Domino
Web access, workflow and security features, OPAL users can track the progress of submitted
permits, pay for permits online with one fee, and execute legal documents through the use of
electronic digital signatures.
New York Governor George E. Pataki's OPAL initiative is part of his larger e-government vision of
bringing government to the people via Internet services. "We want to break down the walls between
government and the citizens of New York State. Allowing businesses to conduct transactions online
to save time and money is just one of the many economic development initiatives we will be
launching in the coming months," said Governor Pataki.
"Regional governments are eager to simplify constituents' access to information and to reduce the
amount of time and money it costs to conduct state business," said Lotus President and CEO Al
Zollar. "By offering an e-government solution that promotes economic growth and reduces
transaction time and cost, states like New York are successfully bringing government services
closer to people while reducing spending."
About the Governor's Office of Regulatory Reform
In 1995, Governor George E. Pataki created the Governor's Office of Regulatory Reform
(www.gorr.state.ny.us) to improve New York State's economic climate through a common-sense
regulatory policy and improved permitting processes. Since then, GORR has reduced the rate of
new rules by 50% and saved New York's businesses, governments, and citizens nearly $3 billion.
GORR's e-business initiative was launched at the beginning of this year with the Permit Assistance
System (PAS) found at www.nys-permits.org. It is a service that allows users to access information
by type of business to build their own customized permit assistance kit. GORR's Permit
Assistance System provides comprehensive permit and licensing help for new and expanding
businesses with background information and applications for 1,100 different business permits that
cut across 200 business types. Since the introduction of PAS, the number of requests for permit
assistance has doubled, helping to speed the creation of 4,500 private sector jobs this year.
LOTUS PRESS RELEASE
Contact:
Elena Fernandez
Lotus Development Corp.
(617) 693-1606
elena_fernandez@lotus.com
Silvana Guerci-Lena
Lois Paul & Partners
(781) 238-5700
silvana_guerci_lena@lpp.com
|