NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A6972
SPONSOR: Otis 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 maintain mobile friendly
platforms for their existing 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 state agency websites be offered in a
mobile friendly form, and that such website is configured in such a way
that such website may be navigated, viewed and accessed on a smartphone,
tablet computer, or similar mobile device.
Section 2: Sets forth the effective date.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE):
JUSTIFICATION:
Since 2007, with the introduction of the first I-phone, mobile devices
and smartphones have brought about a technological revolution in terms
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 7, 2021, that 85% of American adults now own a smart-
phone, up from 35% in spring of 2011, and 15% of American adults rely
solely on their mobile device for internet access in their homes. Addi-
tionally, 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. New York state remains in the technological dark ages
as the vast majority of state affiliated websites are only available in
desktop format. State agencies must offer their websites in a mobile
friendly format so that citizens who rely on the state government for
services and resources can access needed information in the format that
works best for their device.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2021-2022: A2157-A (Fernandez) passed Assembly
2019-2020: A2719 (Fernandez) referred to government operations
2017-2018: A6658 (Fernandez) referred to government operations
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
TBD
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6972
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 9, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. OTIS -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Governmental Operations
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 Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The state technology law is amended by adding a new section
2 210 to read as follows:
3 § 210. State agency websites; mobile friendly websites. All state
4 agency websites, as defined in section two hundred two of this article,
5 shall offer a mobile friendly form and shall be made available for all
6 mobile devices that support such technology. For the purposes of this
7 section, "mobile friendly" shall mean, with respect to a website, that
8 such website is configured in such a way that such website may be navi-
9 gated, viewed and accessed on a smartphone, tablet computer, or similar
10 mobile device.
11 § 2. This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become a
12 law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09848-01-3
