CLICK & DOUBLE CLICK: STATE GOVERNMENT ACTIVITIES ACCESSIBLE ON INTERNET

Cybertip: If you want to know more about this week's Southeast Missouri State University Dr. Dale Nitzschke inauguration schedule, bios on the speakers and other information visit http://www2.semo.edu/inauguration

When it comes to the Internet, the government is moving with surprising speed. Both federal and state governments are putting up information -- useful information -- accessible day and night.

Joni: It's my theory that they are doing this to avoid talking to people. Today we're going to visit some of the useful sites in Missouri state government. You can find the Missouri General Assembly at

http://www.moga.state.mo.us/

Peggy: You can find all the Missouri revised statutes online. No longer do you have to pay a bunch of money for statutes on CD. They are all here, and searchable by keyword. So if you are wondering what Missouri's law says, you can read it for yourself.

Joni: You can also find the Missouri Constitution in case you need to read it in the middle of the night. You can search the Constitution by key words or view the entire document.

Peggy: But it seems one of the most useful things is the first choice, legislation tracking for all 1997 pending bills. You can search by keyword, bill number or by sponsor. It gives you a summary of each bill, the full text of the bill and all actions that have been taken. It's a good way to check how busy your legislators have been.

Joni: For example, you could read the entire text of the lake bill that Sen. Peter Kinder introduced. We found seven bills related to the Internet being considered this session.

Peggy: You can also find member information about the House and Senate. When you click on either, it sends you to their own web locations. The House is at

http://www.house.state.mo.us

Again you have the bill-tracking option. You can also look at the House and Senate calendars and hearing schedules. You can also find out what today's House action will be, look at the House journal and agenda. You can also look at the bills signed or vetoed by the governor.

Joni: Not only can you read this year's proposed legislation, you can also look at the 1996 legislation and what happened to each bill. You can find out information about all House committees and biographies on all the members. In case you're wondering, you can learn who your representatives are by entering your zip code or city name.

Peggy: You can also learn general information about the House and how it operates. The site also lists frequently asked questions about the House. For example, we learned that the House has 87 Democrats, 75 Republicans and one Independent. The House has 40 female and 123 male members.

Joni: On the Senate side, you get a similar offering of information including today's action and bill tracking. The Senate site includes legislation from both 1996 and 1995.

Peggy: You can also learn the rules of the Senate and read how a bill becomes a law.

Joni: And you can find your trivia for the day. The Senate has 34 members: 31 men and three women. The average age is 53. More current Senators were born in March than any other month. None was born in June. Now that's trivia for a trivia buff.

Peggy: More than 1,300 bills and resolutions were deliberated by Missouri legislators in the 1996 session. The shortest bill introduced in the Senate was one line long. One of the longest bills was 897 pages.

Joni: If you want to do more than read about the House and Senate, visit

http://www.missourinet.com

MissouriNet is a radio news network in the state, not a government service.

Peggy: You can listen to live debate from the floor of either the House or Senate using RealAudio and a sound-equipped computer. You use the streamlining capacity, which means sound begins almost immediately.

Joni: If you really want to know what goes on in Jefferson City, you can listen for yourself. You can also relive the State-of-the-State Address and Gov. Mel Carnahan's inauguration address.

Peggy: Missouri state government's main web page can be found at

http://www.state.mo.us

All the different offices are plainly marked. It is divided by executive, legislative and judicial branches along with executive offices. For example, you can check out Cape Girardeau's very own Bekki Cook, Missouri's secretary of state.

Joni: Her office provides the Missouri State Manual, also known as the Blue Book, online. You can find the 1997 election calendar and results from special elections.

Peggy: They also have a one-stop shop for business, a guide for starting a business in Missouri.

Joni: What's your favorite government site? E-mail us at click@semissourian.com

See you in Cyberspace.

~Joni Adams is managing editor and Peggy Scott is graphics editor at the Southeast Missourian.