Tennessee General Assembly
By House of Representatives Speaker Kent Williams – House District 4
I have some exciting news to share with you.  Last summer and fall a team of our legislative staff worked to completely redesign the Tennessee General Assembly’s website.
The completely redesigned website was rolled out shortly before the legislative session began this past January.  The new design was tailored to bring better transparency to our legislative process.  The website makes it easier to follow legislation by way of text, operating schedules and video. Other enhancements include a more user-friendly format and improved search features.
Over the last few months we have received a large number of compliments from people who use the new website, both inside and outside of state government.  However, it is not only our users who have recognized our website.
Now, we have received not just one National Award but two National Awards for the General Assembly website.
On Friday July 24th the Tennessee General Assembly’s website received the Online Democracy Award at the National Conference of State Legislature’s Legislative Summit.  This award recognizes the nation’s top legislative website. That’s right; we were judged the No. 1 Legislative website in the Nation.
The judging panel praised our website for “its ease of navigation, depth of content and openness and availability of information for the public.”  According to NCSL’s press release, “key features of Tennessee’s website that contributed to this year’s award include:  prominent educational resources; well organized information; a simple fresh design; (and) integration of archived streaming video clips with agendas and bill information.”
Additionally, on the West Coast of our Nation, our website was receiving accolades. On Friday, July 24th, the Tennessee General Assembly website also received the 2009 Digital Governance Award for Leadership in Digital Access.  This award is given by Granicus Inc.
Each year Granicus presents Digital Governance Awards in several categories.   The awards honor government agencies that leverage streaming media technologies to:

                +  Improve efficiency in government and public service
                +  Enhance public communication  
                +  Improve community engagement
                +  Facilitate government transparency

These awards demonstrate that the hard work which went into our redesign has paid off. Staff will continue to incorporate improvements in our website each year.
Let’s pass the word along that we have the No. 1 legislative website in the country.  It is truly something to be proud of.  You can view our website at www.capitol.tn.gov.

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