Speaking for Nevada - November 2000

Growth Demands Improved Technology in State Government

by Dean Heller

Results of a recent study ranking state and federal government Web sites by services provided led one Silver State newspaper to comment that Nevada is "part of the information dirt road." The state of Nevada did indeed perform poorly in this particular report, earning an overall ranking of 48^th among the 50 states and the District of Columbia for Web services offered. Our state has, however, made considerable efforts to join the information superhighway, though clearly much remains to be done.

As secretary of state, my commitment to utilizing the latest in technology to improve efficiency and the quality of services available to residents and businesses began in earnest years ago. Experiencing tremendous growth and an increasing demand for services, the goal of my office became clear: become a true e-government office.

The secretary of state’s office shares close ties to Nevada’s business community. As the filing office for the more than 150,000 businesses organized in the state of Nevada, the secretary of state is responsible for processing and maintaining the organizational and amendatory documents of for-profit and nonprofit corporations, limited partnerships, limited liability companies, limited liability partnerships and business trusts.

In recent years, an increasing number of business organizations have filed in the Nevada secretary of state’s office. The number of new corporations filed annually rose by approximately 75 percent between 1994 and 1999. Last year, Nevada surpassed the state of Michigan to become the ninth-ranked state in the nation in the number of new corporations filed. The state’s increased business activity, however, is not limited to corporations. Since 1994, the number of limited liability companies filed with the office increased more than ninefold. Limited partnership filings doubled during that same period. Based on actual and estimated figures, approximately 60,000 new business entities will organize in the state of Nevada this year.

Business growth on this scale is certainly good news for the state. As with any business, however, growth presents its challenges. Technology, and e-commerce in particular, are at the cornerstone of my efforts to meet the challenges of growth and the rising expectations of customers. Technology will allow my office to reach its goal of becoming a "virtual office," providing the capacity for customers to obtain needed information from any location in the world, and offering residents and businesses the services that most states cannot.

Today’s consumers and businesses expect to be able to find the information they seek online. Since its unveiling in 1998, the secretary of state’s Web site has provided this service, and in the process, has become a valuable tool by which individuals and businesses interact with the office. Rapidly approaching 2 million hits per month, the site now attracts an average of 50,000 visitors per day and is the most frequented site in Nevada state government.

More than a source of information, however, the Web site allows people and organizations to conduct business with the office in a timely and efficient manner. Nearly 200 forms are available at the site, including all forms needed by businesses wishing to organize in the state of Nevada. An average of more than 1,000 forms are downloaded each day by office customers. In one month alone, over 39,000 forms were generated online by individuals seeking to do business with the office’s commercial recordings division.

The secretary of state’s office initiated its first e-commerce venture in December of last year, allowing online corporate name reservation and the payment of reservation fees via the Internet. Generally the first step in the incorporation process, corporate name reservation provides for a name to be reserved for 90 days while organizational documents are prepared. In less than a year, an average of 185 corporate names have been reserved, and the requisite fees paid, each month via the Web site. Additional e-commerce applications currently under development include online filing of new business entities; online filing of annual lists of officers; and online application and submission of Uniform Commercial Code and trademark documents.

Just as business now competes in a global marketplace, so too does the Nevada secretary of state. My office’s target market is every proposed or existing business in the world. Customers from more than 100 countries have visited my office’s Web site to date, but it is expanded e-commerce capabilities that will allow the office to further penetrate this global market, bringing more businesses to the state of Nevada.

Internet and e-commerce technology have changed the way my office does business. Not only is the secretary of state’s office providing a service now expected by consumers and business, but customers have benefited from improved service and greater efficiency and convenience. To provide anything less, in my office or anywhere in Nevada state government, would be a disservice to the state, its residents, and business.