On November 15, the House and Senate unanimously passed a modified version of the E-Government Act, which President Bush is expected to sign. While the bill remained mostly intact as it moved through the House and Senate, there were a few significant changes from the original Senate version, which the Senate passed on June 27:

• The Office of E-Government within the Office of Management and Budget will be run by an administrator appointed by the president, but will not require Senate confirmation, as in the original Senate version of the bill. (Title I)

At a U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) public meeting held November 20, lawyers representing Georgia Pacific (GP) and the American Forest and Paper Association (AFPA) raised the possibility of questioning a CSB report’s compliance with the newly issued Data Quality Guidelines.

Despite hard economic times, states are continuing to invest resources to increase government's capacity to deliver services online. But how effectively can digital government engage citizens who are often marginalized from, if not entirely left out of, civic participation, especially young people? Findings from an informative UK study provide useful insights for states to consider in their digital growth. More here…