Kentucky Ranks in Top Five of National E-Government Survey

Business Wire, August 2, 2007

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Kentucky's strides in digital government have been nationally recognized by Brown University's Eighth Annual State and Federal E-Government Study with a fourth place ranking. Held annually since 2000, the study reviews digital government in all 50 states and in all major federal agencies and ranks states based on several factors.

"I am gratified that Brown University recognized the tremendous strides we have made in putting technology to work for the people of Kentucky. It shows our commitment to changing the face of Kentucky's economy and changing lives along the way," said Governor Fletcher. "Kentucky continues to rank nationally as a leader in digital government and we are committed to supporting a more knowledge-based, high-tech economy in the Commonwealth."

States were evaluated on a number of factors during the survey that ran between June and July of this year. Researchers at Brown University reviewed approximately 30 different Kentucky government websites and noted features on the site including online services, policies, privacy, publications and audio/video clips. The survey bases the ranking of the state on the number of services available on the website.

Kentucky has moved to fourth place this year, a strong improvement over the 2006 ranking of 21st and an even stronger improvement from 44th in 2002. According to the Brown University report, Kentucky ranked fourth, "due to its success in presenting clear, organized and consistent Web pages that offer citizens a plethora of resources, services, information, and multimedia."

"The Commonwealth of Kentucky has strived to establish itself as a digital government leader and I think that the results of the Brown Study prove that," said Kentucky's commissioner on technology, Mark Rutledge. "We will continue to improve and build upon the online tools we provide to the citizens and businesses of the Commonwealth."

About Kentucky.gov

Kentucky.gov is the official Web site of the Commonwealth of Kentucky (http://Kentucky.gov). Kentucky.gov is a collaborative effort between the Commonwealth of Kentucky and Kentucky Interactive LLC. Frankfort-based Kentucky Interactive helps state agencies Web-enable their eGovernment services and is the subsidiary of eGovernment firm NIC (Nasdaq: EGOV) that built, operates, markets, and maintains Kentucky.gov on behalf of the state.

About NIC

NIC manages more eGovernment services than any provider in the world. The company helps government communicate more effectively with citizens and businesses by putting essential services online. NIC provides eGovernment solutions for 2,600 state and local agencies that serve more than 67 million people in the United States. Additional information is available at http://www.nicusa.com.