In the Driver's Seat in Utah

by Pam Greenberg

Legislators continue to experiment with ways to use technology to engage citizens in an interactive dialogue on policy issues.  There have been live chats between legislators and citizens and web sites where citizens could post their comments and opinions about proposed legislation.  But many of these attempts have not been able to sustain themselves or generate much excitement in the long run.

Now, Representative Steve Urquhart of Utah—one of the most prolific state-legislator bloggers—has created Politicopia—a wiki designed to present and gather different views on issues under consideration in the legislature.  Wikis are set up so that anyone can register and post comments or opinions and edit any entry.  There are more than 30 bills under discussion on the site, and, Urquhart says, "Legislators are talking to me about things they’ve read on Politicopia. Because of input I received, I have changed a position I've held for years. Already, citizens are using Politicopia to shape the debate."  Senator Urquhart posted draft legislation on school vouchers to get citizen input before he introduced his bill formally.

Take a look—Politicopia has generated lots of thoughtful entries--pro and con arguments, links to resources, information on opportunities for citizen action, and a place to relate personal experiences, like these about a payday lending bill. 

The site says it's giving citizens the keys. Here's hoping they get in the car for a long and rewarding drive.

Comments

[xax]

www.billhop.com is network of state legislative wikis launched last fall with Texas (at tx.billhop.com)

Billhop hasn't yet launched in Utah, but the advantage of a common platform across states is that is allows users to see how the same issues are moving in different states at the same time. If anyone wants a billhop for their state they should contact billhop - they'll probably move up the launch date for your state for you.

[Lurker]

The Wikipedia dude did something similar, but only with campaigns.

As to "politicopia", it very annoyingly doesn't let people just edit, but rather forces them to register.

[Bend it like Brentham]

Alright, a wiki I look forward to using. I didn't even know of it's existence prior to this post. Wiki's are changing the internet, that's how I see it.