BILL NUMBER: S5410

SPONSOR: FERNANDEZ
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the state technology law, in relation to state agency
websites

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This bill requires that all state agencies maintain mobile friendly
platforms for their existing websites and resources. By providing for
mobile friendly forms of state websites the state will ensure wide-
spread, equivalent and improved access to state resources.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Establishes that all state agency websites be offered in a
mobile friendly form.

Section 2: Sets forth the effective date.

              

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Since 2007, with the introduction of the first !phone, mobile devices
and smartphones have brought about a technological revolution in terms
the way consumers access and use online resources. Smartphones, tablets
and newer operating systems for desktops and laptops have begun to shift
the marketplace away from landlines and desktops towards more mobile
pathways.

To illustrate the demographic shift, the Pew Research Center reported on
April 1, 2015, that 64% of American adults now own a smartphone, up from
35% in spring of 2011. The same research report indicated that 10% of
American adults rely solely on their mobile device for internet access
in their homes. Further illustrating the need for updated websites, in
2014, Google altered its search engine results pages to list websites
that are mobile friendly as prioritized in search results in response to
the paradigm shift that mobile device use has caused in internet access.

The state remains in the technological dark ages in terms of providing
Mobile-friendly access to citizens who rely on the state's services and
resources. Being that the vast majority of state affiliated websites are
only available in desktop format, the state is effectively double
dipping by making residents use more of their data plans to access crit-
ical information and resources, while taxing use of such mobile devices
via cellphone and utility taxes. The state should ensure that steps are
taken to provide equal access to all citizens.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2021-2022: A2157a

2019-2020: A2719

2017-2018: A6658

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

TBD

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect