Date: Mon, 3 Oct 1994 19:48:59 -0700 From: Jim Warren Subject: GovAccess.066: Calif Senate access, Rhode Isle. access; West antitrust? DETAILS ON CALIFORNIA SENATE'S OUTSTANDING INTERNET-ACCESS SYSTEM >From Joel_M_Snyder@Opus1.COM Sat Oct 1 07:24:38 1994 The California Senate is undoubtedly the most advanced legislature in the United States in the range of services it provides to Internet-connected users. I've seen a number of fragmented messages come out over a variety of lists and thought people might be interested in seeing the whole breadth of services they offer. Using the services at this site, you can correspond with Senators and their staffs, find out about pending legislation, subscribe to information services (including the capability to follow a bill), do full-text searches on legislative information and more. 1) Incoming Email. All Senate staffers and Senators are on an internal email system. For those people to receive email, they have to complete a simple enrollment process; most folks have done that. You can try and guess someone's name by using this formula: First.Last@SEN.CA.GOV. For example, if you wanted to send to Linda Ronstadt, you would send to Linda.Ronstadt@SEN.CA.GOV. 2) Directory Services. You can look up email addresses by using the white pages server they've set up. NOTE: Every user has the option of NOT being listed in this server! To get to the server, you can: - use your finger command @sen.ca.gov - send mail to finger@sen.ca.gov - use your WWW browser to www.sen.ca.gov The server accepts the usual sort of fuzzy strings you'd expect a good server to handle, as well as the following special cases: - "help" (finger help@sen.ca.gov) - "senator" - gives you a list of real live senators who want to receive email addressed to them directly (as opposed to their staff members) 3) Senator Information Files If you don't know who your senator is, you can always look it up by FINGERing your ZIP code. For example, if you lived in Beverly Hills, you could: finger 90210@sen.ca.gov to see who your Senator is. This server also returns lots of information about each Senator, including addresses, biography, committees, etc. 4) FTP Server An FTP server (at FTP.SEN.CA.GOV) is available with information on the Senate, Senators, and various senate committees and offices (including the Senate Office of Research, which does a lot of cool reports). 5) Gopher Server The Gopher server (at Gopher.SEN.CA.GOV) lets you access everything on the FTP server plus the entire California code and statutes and constitution, all pending Bills before the legislature, and other Senate and Legislative information. This server maintains the most comprehensive set of links to other State legislatures available in GopherSpace. You can also do full-text searches of the pending bill files to find bills which might be of interest to you. 6) Senate News service (and mail server) Senate News is a mail-based service which lets you subscribe to topics of interest (such as bulletins from senators, committee reports, etc) and be emailed information (or simply notifications about information) whenever the system changes. You can also use the mail server to do bill topic searches and to retrieve bill files. Send an email message to senate-news@sen.ca.gov with a text of "help" to get the help file. A new service in Senate News lets you follow a bill as it passes through the legislature. Once you've identified a bill you're interested in, you can subscribe to it (through senate-news) and anytime the bill changes, is analyzed, or has a status change (e.g., voting, vetoes, etc), you'll get mailed the changes (or a notification of the changes). 7) WWW Server The WWW server (at WWW.SEN.CA.GOV) is a new service which lets you do full text searches of bills pending before the legislature, access all the information available in the Gopher server, and other tasks (such as white pages lookups). This is slowly being expanded. There are other services available to internal users, such as a full USENET news feed and Clarinet news service, but these are not available to external users. IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: I speak in no way, shape, or form for the California Senate Rules Committee. They reserve the right to call me a lyin' bastard anytime they want. None of this represents a commitment to continue service from that site. SEN.CA.GOV site does not operate to satisfy the requirements of any law or budget item. If you want to see what AB 1624 requires, FTP to leginfo.public.ca.gov. If you want this project to be continued, call your Senator and tell him or her how cool you think SEN.CA.GOV is! If you want any advice on the technology or tools used to implement this service, I'd be happy to talk to you about it (since I did most of the implementation). If you want to congratulate the person who thought this up, got the funding, ran the political hurdles, and continues to do the real hard work, write to Dennis.Miller@SEN.CA.GOV (or call the Pro Tem in charge of Senate Rules, Senator Bill Lockyer at 916-445-6671 or c/o State Capitol Rm. 205, Sacto, 95814). If you have questions about the legislative process or want to know something about a bill or whatever ... we don't have anyone to answer those questions; call your Senator (see (2) above). === Joel M Snyder, 1404 East Lind Road, Tucson, AZ, 85719 Phone: +1 602 324 0494 (voice) +1 602 324 0495 (FAX) jms@Opus1.COM Opus One ------------------------------ CENTER FOR PUBLIC INFORMATION OPENS TO SERVE RHODE ISLANDERS >From pulse@world.std.com Sun Oct 2 11:59:49 1994 From: David M Goldstein A group of Rhode Islanders active in government reform and/or providing electronic access to information have united to form the Center for Public Information, Inc. (CPI), a nonprofit organization devoted to making information by and about government more accessible. The agency will utilize computer technology and traditional publishing methods to make information from government agencies and nonprofits dealing with government reform and policy easier, faster, and less expensive to access. Planned CPI projects include: Assisting state and local government agencies with making their information electronically through the Internet (through Gopher, the World Wide Web, newsgroups and electronic discussion lists) and other information networks and services; Developing computerized resource databases containing information about government programs, services, information and other resources, as a directory of elected, appointed, and departmental officials; Publishing resource guides containing information contained in the databases and placed on the information networks and services; Systematically requesting and reporting (electronically and through hard copies) public records and information regarding government activities, as well as compliance with open records laws; Developing and supporting legislation designed to not only make requesting government information easier and enforcing compliance, but requiring agencies to regularly report information and eliminating the need for anyone to ask; Assisting nonprofit agencies involved with government reform, government policies and operations, the dissemination of government information, and improving electronic access to information with accessing government information and making information about their agencies and efforts easier to access. Information collected by CPI will be disseminated through a number of methods: an electronic bulletin board, the Internet, any network or information service (such as the Ocean State Freenet) wishing to carry the information and which will provide it free of charge, or for no additional charge. In addition, the agency will produce hard copies of information upon request, information on diskettes, and hard copy guides and reports for those without access to online technology or who prefer hard copies. The organization has been in the planning stages for the past 6 months. As part of its planning process, organizers met with representatives from several of Rhode Island's government reform groups, including Common Cause, Operation Clean Government, GAP, the League of Women Voters, and Reform 92, as well as the Ocean State Freenet. Unlike other reform groups, CPI will deal only with the issue of improving access to government information. Specific projects, and the means to access information will be announced in the coming weeks. While access to online information will be free, CPI will ask for voluntary contributions from those using the system or who wish to support its efforts. Founding Board members and officers include: Linda DiCecco, President; Elizabeth Leonard, Vice-President; Paul Redkovich, Treasurer, Rep. Gordon Fox, Secretary; and Board members Ray Rickman, and John Aspinwall.. CPI is seeking volunteers interested in the following areas: data processing, online technology (including use of the Internet and World Wide Web), clerical, telephoning, writing, researching, press, fundraising, volunteer recruitment, and serving on the Board of special committees. For more information, contact: Linda DiCecco @ 401-942-3984 === The Center for Public Information, Inc. 428 Smith Street, Providence, RI 02908 401-351-9122 email: pulse@world.std.com ------------------------------ TAP SAYS WEST PUBLISHING IS SUBJECT OF DEPT OF JUSTICE ANTITRUST PROBE - Department of Justice (DOJ) begins antitrust investigation of West Publishing. - DOJ investigators ask to meet with several publishers to gather information about West business practices. - Publishers or companies who have information about anticompetitive problems in markets for legal information may provide information to the Department of Justice. - Investigation coincides with September 2, 1994 announcement that Attorney General Janet Reno will explore ways to improve public access to legal information, including development of united non-proprietary system of citation and public domain database of federal and state judicial opinions. - Publishers will meet in Washington, DC on October 19 to discuss the adoption of non-proprietary vendor neutral system of citation. DOJ BEGINS ANTITRUST INVESTIGATION Six small publishers have told TAP that they were interviewed by investigators from the Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division over the past two weeks. The interviews were described as preliminary, but extensive, lasting several hours and involving several DOJ investigators. The DOJ investigation is apparently focusing on a number of allegations of anticompetitive practices in the market for legal information, including the controversial West Publishing assertion that it "owns" the page numbers to published judicial opinions. The page numbers of published opinions are a crucial element of the citation system used by judges to cite case law. Companies or individuals who have information about problems in markets for legal information may provide information to the Department of Justice. Information that would be particularly useful concerns the impact of the West control over the citation system on the ability of firms to offer new products and services, including value added products which are not commercially viable without access to an acceptable citation system. Also useful would be information about exclusive arrangements or preferential treatment between West and state and federal courts, or anticompetitive business practices. Letters should be addressed to: Anne Bingaman Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Department of Justice Washington, DC 20530 Investigators for the case can be reached at: 202/514-8346. WEST LOBBIES AGAINST RENO ON PUBLIC DOMAIN LEGAL INFORMATION The DOJ antitrust investigation appears to have began shortly after a September 2, 1994 announcement by Attorney General Janet Reno stating that DOJ will explore ways to improve public access to legal information, including the development of united non-proprietary system of citation and public domain database of federal and state judicial opinions. West Publishing is aggressively attacking the September 2 DOJ announcement. On September 14, 1994, Dwight Opperman (v. 612/687-5700), the Chairman of West Publishing, sent a "Dear Fellow West Publishing Employee/Retiree" letter to a reported 6,000 persons, asking them to write letters to DOJ opposing the September 2, 1994 statement by Attorney General Janet Reno. The West letter writing campaign was the subject of several news stories in Minnesota newspapers. West has also been heavily lobbying Congress, calling in all of its chits, and asking members to write Reno in opposition to a public domain system of citation. One Senate staff member said that West lobbyists were now saying that a public domain citation system would destroy West, and allow the Japanese an opportunity to take over the legal publishing market. While arguments of this type are seen as a sign of desperation, West is still perceived to be a very influential actor, due largely to West President Vance Opperman's role as a big money fundraiser for members of Congress and the Clinton Administration. For more information about the West lobbying campaign, contact Vance Opperman (v. 612/687-5700, vopperman@research.westlaw.com) The Minnesota congressional delegation has been particularly active in its support of West, lead by republican House member Jim Ramstad. In a September 12, 1994 speech on the floor of the House (CR, H9083-4) Rep. Ramstad made the following comments: Madam Speaker, I rise today to discuss an issue of grave concern to one of the largest employers in my district. I refer to the press release issued by the Department of Justice on September 2, 1994, with the headline, "Justice Dept. Seeks Public Access to Court Rulings." In effect, the Justice Department is getting ready to spend millions of taxpayer dollars to put America's private sector legal information industry out of business--and put thousands of American taxpayers who work in that industry out of jobs. . . . First, the Department intends to create and impose an additional new, so called public citation system for court cases. . . Second, the Department Intends to duplicate, at public expense, legal databases already easily available from the private sector--databases containing millions of court cases. . . . West Publishing is an American Success story . . . I [suspect that nobody] has been approached with complaints about the unavailability of online legal information--or the inadequacy of our citation system. . . It raises a very real specter of Government censorship over legal information by eventually making the Department of Justice and the political appointees who operate there the sole source of legal information in America. REALITY CHECK FOR JIM RAMSTAD - West charges about $240 per hour for access to WESTLAW, which is far more than most citizens can afford. - The U.S. government spends tens of millions of dollars per year on WESTLAW and LEXIS and millions more to purchase West print publicans. The cost of these publications would drop dramatically with a public domain system of citation and new competition, saving taxpayers millions of dollars. - There is widespread industry support for public domain citation system, including such firms as Mead Data Central, LEXIS/Counsel Connect, Lawyers Coop, Timeline Publishing, Tax Analysts, Hyperlaw, Select University Technologies and dozens of other firms. Only West Publishing actively supports the West monopoly on federal judicial citations. - Most of the value added publishers strongly support a central government repository of federal judicial decisions. At present, only two firms, West and Mead (LEXIS) own copies of the database of historical opinions. West claims its minor grammatical corrections and selection criteria give it a copyright over its body of published historical judicial opinions, forcing the public to deal with a monopoly to obtain public records. PUBLISHERS TO MEET OCT 19th ON NON-PROPRIETARY CITATION SYSTEM On October 19, 1994, more than one dozen publishers will meet in Washington, DC to discuss the adoption of a non- proprietary vendor neutral system of citation for judicial opinions. Persons interested in learning more about this effort can contact James Love (wk 202/387-8030; hm 610/658-0880; jamie@tap.org) or Michael Ward (v. 202/387-8030; mike@tap.org) --- TAP-INFO is an Internet Distribution List provided by the Taxpayer Assets Project (TAP). TAP was founded by Ralph Nader to monitor the management of government property, including information systems and data, government funded R&D, spectrum allocation and other government assets. TAP-INFO reports on TAP activities relating to federal information policy. tap-info is archived at ftp.cpsr.org; gopher.cpsr.org and wais.cpsr.org Subscription requests to tap-info to listproc@tap.org with the message: subscribe tap-info your name --- Taxpayer Assets Project; P.O. Box 19367, Washington, DC 20036 v. 202/387-8030; f. 202/234-5176; tap@tap.org ------------------------------ "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." -- Benjamin Franklin (from farber@central.cis.upenn.edu's sig) Mo' as it Is. --jim GovAccess is an email distribution-list of irregular postings, maintained by Jim Warren, columnist for MicroTimes, Government Technology, BoardWatch, etc. 345 Swett Rd., Woodside CA 94062; voice/415-851-7075; fax/<# upon request> jwarren@well.com -or- jwarren@autodesk.com >> Permission herewith granted for unlimited reposting and recirculation.<< >> Past postings are at ftp.cpsr.org:/cpsr/states/california/govaccess << >> To add or drop the GovAccess list, email to jwarren@well.com . << End of GovAccess ************************