ATLANTA – The Georgia General Assembly (GGA) was recently awarded with the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) Online Democracy Award for its legislative website, which can be found here. This public website was recognized for its professional presentation that offers an easy and helpful way for citizens to find information, according to the NCSL selection committee.
“I am proud of the diligent work done to modernize our legislature’s website, ensuring Georgia citizens are better able to access legislative resources and track the work we do under the gold dome,” said Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan. “This award affirms the dedication of the General Assembly to provide a user-friendly platform for all Georgians so they can be involved in the legislative process. Ease of access was the focus of the website upgrades, and I am thrilled to see such hard work rewarded.”
“From live streaming committee meetings to modernizing our website, the Georgia General Assembly continues to work to make the legislative process more accessible,” said House Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge). “This prestigious award recognizes those efforts and honors our staff who have worked so hard to launch this new, updated website. It has never been easier to learn about or participate in the legislative process in Georgia.”
NCSL’s Online Democracy Award is presented annually to a legislature, legislative chamber or caucus whose website makes democracy user-friendly in an outstanding way. The winning website is chosen by a committee of legislative staffers who evaluate each site’s design, content and technological integration. NCSL commended Georgia’s team for its main page and search options, as well as the website’s mobile accessibility. The selection committee also recognized the website for its creative and consistent “Under the Gold Dome” theme.
“This prestigious honor from the National Conference of State Legislatures is further evidence of the General Assembly’s commitment to ensuring a transparent legislative process,” said Sen. Senate President Pro Tempore Butch Miller (R-Gainesville). “The new tools and features on our new website, including a more easily navigable schedule, more powerful advanced search capabilities and additional accessibility features, all work to make it as seamless as possible for a citizen to find any information they may need. I am proud of the work done by Senate staff, our colleagues in the House and our Information Technology department as they coordinated with Tallan to make this website upgrade a success.”
The Online Democracy Award is sponsored by two of NCSL’s legislative staff associations: the National Association of Legislative Information Technology and the Legislative Information and Communications Staff. The award will be presented during the annual NCSL Base Camp virtual event, which provides an opportunity for state legislators, businesses, technology and other public leaders from across the country to discuss state issues.
The Georgia General Assembly website was designed with a modern look and feel with a unified design and maintains individual branding for the House and Senate. It also has a mobile-first responsive design for phones and tablets and contains a new streamlined menu structure for easy navigation. The homepage provides quick access to House and Senate meeting schedules, committee meetings and important legislative documents, such as Rules Committee bill calendars and daily voting composites. The site also includes updated search functions to find legislation and individual legislators, and it also features a new “Chamber News and Events” section to increase awareness of House and Senate events at the Capitol and across the state.
The Georgia General Assembly worked with Tallan, a website solutions company, to develop the public website. The legislature will continue to work with Tallan to complete its multi-year legislative system upgrade. The Georgia General Assembly is the third Tallan client to win the Online Democracy Award.
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For Immediate Release:
Aug. 5, 2021
Andrew Allison
(404) 656-0028