That's one of the major changes in the no-budget Web site the state launched in 2000 as www.myscgov.com.
"We're not paying them any money," state Budget and Control Board spokesman Mike Sponhour said. "Ultimately, however much business they're able to win, however much e-government they're able to create in this state, is going to depend on their own efforts," Sponhour said.
South Carolina Interactive is a subsidiary of NIC Inc., headquartered in Olathe, Kan. The company operates 18 state Internet portals, or main links to state governments, that handled 100 million Web transactions last year, said general manager Jeff McCartney.
Public information remains free, and the site is better organized and offers users different ways to browse the site.
"A simple lookup? We won't charge for that," McCartney said, but there are services that target businesses or people willing to pay transaction fees to get something faster.
Giving people the convenience of receiving a service faster may bring a charge, Sponhour said. "But usually that's going to be dramatically outweighed by savings in time and hassle" by not having to do business in person, Sponhour said.
A fee could be as little as a penny or a percentage of the transaction's value, McCartney said.
One service already offered involves drivers' records. Insurance companies can pay a $1.25 Internet convenience fee to obtain information. The records normally cost $6 at the Department of Motor Vehicles.
That means insurance companies can submit lists of drivers to be processed online and pay $7.25 or stand in line and pay less.
South Carolina Interactive is working with state agencies to develop other free and fee-based services they can offer on the Web and will help them market those offerings, McCartney said.
If site surfers can't find what they're looking for, they can launch an online chat session.
The site also has a photo gallery that gives shutter bugs a place to show off their camera work.
Autor: Jim Davenport
Quelle: The State, 31.10.2005
