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Technology and the APA: Impacts of electronic communication on rulemaking

Technology and the APA: Impacts of electronic communication on rulemaking. Mission Statement: The UTC protects consumers by ensuring that utility and transportation services are fairly priced, available, reliable, and safe.

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Technology and the APA: Impacts of electronic communication on rulemaking

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  1. Technology and the APA:Impacts of electronic communication on rulemaking Mission Statement: The UTC protects consumers by ensuring that utility and transportation services are fairly priced, available, reliable, and safe. The Washington Administrative Procedures Act: Past Present and FutureSept. 22, 2005 Jeffrey Showman Performance Consultant & Knowledge ManagerWashington Utilities and Transportation Commissionjshowman@wutc.wa.gov, 360-664-1212

  2. Disclaimer The views expressed today are mine alone, and do not represent any official position of the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC).

  3. Outline Part 1 – Framework - Model of communication and rulemaking Part 2 – Reality - How technology impacts rulemaking Part 3 – Future?

  4. 1. Model of communication system We use models to simplify, understand reality. Main components of a communication model: • Sender – Person that starts the conversation • Receiver – Listener, the recipient of the message • Message – “Content” – what’s being communicated • Medium – “Channel” – technology for transmitting • Feedback – “Mm-hm”, “I understand”, “Oh yeah?”

  5. Picture of communication system

  6. Model applied to rule making • Sender = agency considering rules • Receiver = parties interested in or affected by potential rules • Message = notice that rules are being considered, inviting comment • Medium = ways of notifying – paper, electronic, web site • Feedback = comment on proposed rules.

  7. Rulemaking technology is more than just communication • Agencies must manage many rulemakings at a time, use “case management tools” for these administration responsibilities. • Work flow and team coordination – Creating and moving documents through the process of drafting, review, and publication. “Who drafted it? Who’s desk is it on now? ” • Status, progress and timeliness - “What’s on our plate? How long is it taking?”

  8. More technology roles in rulemaking • Measuring performance - “Are we timely? Is the rule effective? Did we listen to stakeholders? Is it easy to understand and comply?” • Knowledge sharing and data mining – “What did we say or do on this subject last time?” • Electronic technology plays an important role in all these other aspects of rulemaking. • Tools include databases, spreadsheets, case management and content management software, web sites, online surveys, intranets, etc.

  9. Issues in electronic communication: How convenient is it for stakeholders? • “Pull”: customers go somewhere to obtain materials • Paper = available at the public library. • Electronic = available on a web site, customer needs to find it. • “Push”: delivered to customers door or desktop • Paper = US postal service, customer needs way to get on list. • Electronic = notice by email; customer needs to get on the list, then agency must manage the list and notice. • Emerging technology: RSS “Real Simple Syndication” allows customers to sign up for topic-based subscriptions from web. • Electronic filing or electronic availability? • E-Filing = customer fills out form on a web site, submits comments electronically OR prepares comments and sends by email. • E-Available = agency scans comments to electronic format.

  10. Technology and rulemaking at the UTC 1. Electronic documents • 1999 strategic plan - Project to increase electronic documents available to customers on our web site. • Cross-agency team looked at how documents are created in hearings, rulemakings, and measured performance. • New Records Management System (RMS) database used lessons to build automated tool to capture electronic documents as normal part of doing business. • New procedural rules (2003) - UTC accepts electronic (email) rulemaking comments, no paper necessary. • After visit to Idaho PUC, Records Center purchased scanning copiers to convert paper to electronic. • Electronic document availability went from 45% to 100%.

  11. Technology and rulemaking 2. UTC web site • UTC web site has “Rulemaking” button on our home page. • Easy to create web pages, click a single button to make them appear under rulemaking and/or industry news. • Web pages provide plain-English explanation of latest events and deadlines. • Customers can see the complete documentary history in web version of our RMS database (except confidential documents). • See screen prints on next slides

  12. Ex. 1 – View of UTC rule makings

  13. Ex. 2 - UTC “Rulemaking” web page

  14. Ex. 3 – Rulemaking web document availability

  15. Technology and rulemaking at the UTC – 3. Other web page uses Rulemaking teams have used web pages to: • Survey stakeholders about rule options, small business economic data, and to get feedback about UTC rulemaking effectiveness. • Distribute workshop agendas and materials. • Conduct on online workshop presentations, where the web page (in conjunction with telephone conference call capability) allows stakeholders nationwide to join in “online” tour (see next slide.)

  16. Ex.4 - Online workshop presentation

  17. Future needs and feeds? • RSS technology can allow customers to choose, obtain real-time notification without work by agencies. • Case management and workflow automating - databases to allow automated preparation, review, approval, and distribution of possible rules – may improve efficiency • Feedback about the rulemaking process - customer surveys (“transaction-based”) at the end of every rule, or other forms of feedback (e-bay and Amazon models - customer ratings) would improve effectiveness. • Standardized metrics of rulemaking performance would allow agencies to benchmark themselves against peers.

  18. Summary - technology and rulemaking • “High technology” can make it easier and faster to communicate with stakeholders, but . . . • Real value of technology may be making it easier for agencies to: • Manage multiple rulemakings, • Measure performance and get stakeholder feedback. • Be more efficient and effective.

  19. References • Idaho Public Utility Commission (PUC) users can sign up to receive updates on PUC action via RSS feed: http://www.puc.idaho.gov/rssfeeds/rss.htm • National Public Radio (NPR) has background on RSS feeds: http://www.npr.org/help/index.html • WUTC rule web page: www.wutc.wa.gov/rulemaking • Malcom Gladwell, “The Social Life of Paper” (book review of The Myth of the Paperless Office) in The New Yorker, March 25, 2002 – Value of computers is managing files: http://www.newyorker.com/critics/books/?020325crbo_books. • Thomas H. Davenport, “The Coming Commoditization of Process” - Harvard Business Review, June 2005. Technology can standardize business processes.

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