What's happening
This bill requires all New York state agency websites to be mobile-friendly and accessible on mobile devices.
Why it matters
Improves public access to government services. by ensuring that people can use state agency websites on smartphones and tablets, which is increasingly how many New Yorkers access the internet—especially those without a home computer.
Helps close the digital divide. for residents who rely on mobile devices as their primary or only means of getting online, making government information and services more equitable.
Encourages modernization and better user experience. across all state agencies, pushing government tech infrastructure to keep pace with private sector standards and user expectations for mobile compatibility.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Make State Websites Mobile-Friendly
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to internet and technology
- Referred to internet and technology
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Require Mobile-Friendly State Websites
In Assembly Committee · Governmental Operations · Sponsor Nathalia Fernandez
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
4914
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
March 29, 2019
Introduced by Sen. GOUNARDES -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Internet and Technology
AN ACT to amend the state technology law, in relation to state agency websites
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The state technology law is amended by adding a new section 209 to read as follows:
§ 209. State agency websites; mobile friendly websites. All current and future state agency websites, as defined in section two hundred two of this article, shall offer a mobile friendly form and shall be made available for all mobile devices that support such technology.
§ 2. This act shall take effect January 1, 2020.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03529-01-9
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the state technology law, in relation to state agency websites
Purpose or general idea of bill
This bill requires that all state agencies create and maintain mobile friendly platforms for their websites and resources. By providing for mobile friendly forms of state websites the state will ensure wide- spread, equivalent and improved access to state resources.
Summary of provisions
Section 1: Establishes that all current and future state agency websites be offered in a mobile friendly form and shall be made available for all mobile devices.
Section 2: Provides the enacting clause.
Justification
Since 2007, with the introduction of the first (phone, mobile devices and smartphones have brought about a technological revolution in terms of the way consumers access and use online resources. Smartphones, tablets and newer operating systems for desktops and laptops have begun to shift the marketplace away from landlines and desktops towards more mobile pathways.
To illustrate the demographic shift, the Pew Research Center reported on April 1, 2015, that 64% of American adults now own a smartphone, up from 35% in the spring of 2011. The same research report indicated that 10% of American adults rely solely on their mobile device for internet access in their homes. Further illustrating the need for updated websites, in 2014, Google altered its search engine results pages to list websites that are mobile friendly as prioritized in search results in response to the paradigm shift that mobile device use has caused in internet access.
The state remains in the technological dark ages in terms of providing Mobile-friendly access to citizens who rely on the state's services and resources. Being that the vast majority of state affiliated websites are only available in desktop format, the state is effectively double dipping by making residents use more of their data plans to access crit- ical information and resources, while taxing use of such mobile devices via cellphone and utility taxes. The state should ensure that steps are taken to provide equal access to all citizens.
Prior legislative history
2017: Veto, Memo 179
Fiscal implications
Minimal. The state already allocates funding for website maintenance to each state agency. Any additional costs in connection with the updating of such websites is expected to be recouped in the long haul througre-
ductions in data traffic thanks to significantly smaller website data requirements.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the first day of January 2020.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.