e-Texas meets at System Center

Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Rylander brought her e-Texas Commission to the UNT System Center at Dallas on May 23 for the commission's Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex public meeting.

According to Rylander, the commission is a citizen advisory committee that finds ways to help the state government meet the challenges of the Internet Age.

"Our ultimate goal is to transform Texas government from its traditional bricks and mortar foundation to a national technological leader that uses bytes, chips and satellite airwaves to deliver services," Rylander says.

"While electronic government is the major focus of e-Texas, the effort goes beyond computers and technology," she explains. "Our goals are to create a smaller, smarter government, introduce competition, improve delivery of services, raise educational standards and give citizens tools to interact with government."

Two of the three co-chairs of the commission, Wendy Lee Gramm and Hector DeLeon, led discussions at the System Center. In addition, many of the 14 commissioners (each the leader of an individual commission task force) attended and contributed to the discussion.

Three task force groups — Environment and Natural Resources, Transportation, and Asset and Financial Management — presented progress reports on their current activities.

Rylander says these public meetings, scheduled throughout 2000 in locations across the state, are intended to enable experts from the public and private sectors to join forces with interested citizens to present information, make suggestions and address concerns.

Commission guests were welcomed to the System Center by Interim Director Virginia Wheeless and Texas Sen. Royce West.

BY RODDY WOLPER rwolper@unt.edu

Other featured articles in this issue:

• Raises, technology priorities in operating budget
• Regents study future structure of UNT system
• Building university's computers on campus increases quality, savings
• 12 schools use UNT Coliseum for commencement exercises
• New planetarium show focuses on cells
• Kappelman to direct information systems center
• UNT creates Jewish studies minor
• Final answer: Hoerschelmann researches game shows
• Davison named manager of bookstore
• National track meet planned

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