ABSTRACT
I. Introduction............................................................................................................ 321 II. Literature review..................................................................................................... 322 III. Research objective and hypotheses....................................................................... 323 IV. Case selection, data collection, and operationalization........................................ 324 V. Analysis ................................................................................................................... 325
A. Historical evolution of IT in the New York State legislature ........................ 325 B. IT and casework ............................................................................................. 327 C. IT and policy formulation .............................................................................. 329
VI. Conclusion.............................................................................................................. 332 References........................................................................................................................ 333
This chapter explores the role of computing technology in the New York State legislature from 1980 through 2003. It examines how information technology (IT) has affected casework and policy formulation. I assess the level of collaboration, efficiency, and acceptance toward new technologies in these areas. Overall, there is increased collaboration on casework and policy formulation as a result of e-mail and the Internet. I also find that there is a greater degree of efficiency, but the acceptance of new technologies is not universal.
