Digital Government News: October 2017

Contents

Maryland Citizens Highly Satisfied with Digital Government Services

Maryland Business Express Providing the Real-time Service Businesses Need

Enterprise Invoice Payment System Integrates Data from Maryland's FMIS System

Celebrating Maryland's Award Winning Services

Need to Accept Payments at the Counter? OTC GovPay Point-of-Sale Has You Covered

NIC Partner Webinar: The State of Security & Risk Management

Maryland Citizens Highly Satisfied with Digital Government Services

Governor Hogan and our partner agencies continue to make information and communication technology (ICT) service delivery a priority in the state of Maryland by investing in innovation, collaboration and making sure priorities of the people we serve are met by expanding accessibility of government service through digital delivery.

In the past six years, 44 state and local agencies in collaboration with NIC Maryland have successfully launched 119 digital government services. Many of these services have reinvented the constituent experience allowing citizens to interact with government on their schedule using the service channel of their choice.

The state's commitment to Governor Hogan's Customer Service Promise and commitment to adopting new technology that makes it easier to interact with government is evident from the survey data collected from users of these digital government services. In 2017, 97% of Maryland's digital service users reported a high level of satisfaction with their overall experience and 97% stated they would refer the service to a friend.

An anonymous user of the Secretary of State Notary service stated "You have no idea how valuable automation is to Maryland citizens. Creating as much access for its residents so they can easily find the answers to their questions by simply using online self-help options. I work in commercial real estate and you would not believe how advanced Maryland is in this regard. Thank you!"

One thing rings true, citizens want the government to expand their digital footprint, making more services available online with the expectation that these services will be intuitive, accessible, fast and cost-effective. In a study conducted by Governing, 76 percent of Americans said they approved of the government's efforts to put more information and services online. And 64 percent of people reported they would like to be able to conduct even more digital government transactions.

Maryland's digital government is improving customer service throughout the state, making it easier for citizens to access the services they need, when they need them. Digital services are available 24 hours per day, 365 days per year and staffed with local 24-hour customer support services.

Maryland Business Express Providing the

Real-time Service Businesses Need

On average, 4,500 businesses are established monthly through Maryland's award winning business portal, Maryland Business Express. Maryland Business Express provides businesses with a streamlined, citizen-focused online portal in which to start and manage their business.

Through a recent enhancement, businesses can now conduct a business entity search, order Certificates of Status, and certified copies on the fly.

Real time queries of the Maryland Business Express search functionality has enhanced the overall user experience, through an intuitive business name search for registered Maryland businesses, immediately revealing if a business name is already in use as well as if the business is in good standing.

A Maryland Certificate of Status is a document issued by the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) that provides evidence that a Maryland business (Corporation, LLC or LLP) is authorized to transact business in the state of Maryland and complies with all state business requirements. This and other certified documents may be required for businesses to acquire loans, to renew business licenses, or for tax or other purposes in Maryland or other states. Maryland Business Express registered users or guests can order, remit payment, and immediately receive Certificates of Status (COS) electronically via email. In the past 8 months, over 25,000 Certificates of Status have been processed through Maryland Business Express.

Every Certificate of Status or certified copy issued through Maryland Business Express has a unique authentication code shown at the bottom of the document that can be used to verify the document's authenticity.

Further improving usability of the business portal, a connection with the SDAT's image server, allows constituents to preview select documents prior to purchase.

SDAT is continually working to enhance the business express portal service functionality, currently in development:

Ability to change principal office and resident agent
Ability to cancel Maryland LLC filing
PayPal as a new payment option
Filing status updates for third party contact selected by account holder
Adding contacts to profile for the purpose of pre-filling contact screens during filing process

Enterprise Invoice Payment System Integrates Data from State's FMIS System

Maryland Department of Environment (MDE) sends out approximately 2,500 invoices a month to the regulated community for a variety of permits to protect air quality, water quality and for safe control of waste disposal. An invoice data file is populated from Maryland's FMIS (states accounting system) to the MDE online Invoice Payment System.

In three easy steps, MDE customers can submit online payments using any major credit card or via eCheck/ACH. Customers enter the invoice number, select the default amount shown or enter a different amount to pay, and click on proceed to process the invoice payment. Each transaction is assigned a unique confirmation number and the customer receives confirmation of payment by display, email and print options.

Funds automatically disburse to the designated Bank of America DepositoryPlus bank account used by the Maryland State Treasurer's office, and automatically post to the agency's R*STARS ledger. Real-time detailed and summary transaction reports are available to the agency, including the ability to query payment transactions and view details on an individual transaction or a group of transactions.

The online Environmental Invoice Payment portal has provided additional payment channels for citizens and businesses, reduced the volume of payer check and cash payments, reduced paper processing and manual transactions and improved the constituent experience.

MDE is committed to enhancing the constituent experience and continues to use new technologies to increase efficiencies and environmental results throughout the state.

CELEBRATING MARYLAND'S AWARD WINNING SERVICES

The WebAward program is the longest running annual website award competition dedicated to naming the best websites in 96 industries while setting the standard of excellence for all website development.