Reports to the General Assembly System
Overview
DLAS is charged with oversight of Reports to the General Assembly (RGA), which is publicly available as an online application and a print publication. A Report to the General Assembly can either be defined as a legislative study (House or Senate Document) or a recurring report (Report Document). DLAS issues publication guidelines to promote format consistency, control cost of reproduction, and provide similar information components (i.e., preface, executive summary).
Challenge
Reports to the General Assembly was formerly a Lotus Notes application. Content was publicly accessible through web applications and print publications. Data was updated and maintained in the Lotus Notes native environment. PDF report content was not indexed for searching, leaving only metadata to be queried. Notes support was limited, and the web layout was limited by Notes data conventions and presentation style. While straightforward, many of the features did not respond smoothly and required much vertical navigation. Key features such as accessing the report PDF were not readily apparent.
Solution
The Reports to the General Assembly application has been replaced as part of the Legislative Information System upgrade using current application development and Web design standards. The focus of the upgrade was to streamline notification processes, simplify data input, and modernize Web page design and print publications. Searching was enhanced to include report PDF content. Accessibility has been improved by the use of responsive design.
