Michigan creates e-gov office

Michigan Gov. John Engler recently established the e-Michigan Office that

will coordinate the state's development of electronic government.

The office, within the Executive Office of the Governor, will re-engineer

current services and design new ones.

Monday at the annual State of the States briefing in Falls Church, Va.,

Michigan chief information officer George Boersma said the goal is to create

a World Wide Web portal based on real-life applications. For example, he

said, if an individual wanted to camp in Michigan, that person could log

on to the portal and make campground reservations, obtain fishing and boating

licenses and learn about nearby fairs or concerts.

In addition, as the vacation approached, the system would send an e-mail

notifying the traveler about possible detours and traffic problems, as well

as the weather in the city.

The portal would also include a "content center" that would provide information

at all hours about all agencies.

The office will be a temporary agency under state law, existing only two

years after its official starting date of May 1.

Engler's plan also created the e-Michigan Advisory Council, a five-member

group that will advise the e-Michigan Office director on the best practices

to implement e-commerce, future business trends, government and education

relating to e-commerce and the best opportunities for using e-commerce to

offer services.

The office will directed by Stephanie Comai, the former director of the

Governor's Division of State Government Affairs.