One measure of its efficacy could be shown by turning to some particular topic and locating volumes of useful Web sites. Yet, it is easy to get a distorted impression of the Web’s growth based upon the idiosyncratic nature of most forays into the Internet. We need to be wary of simply selecting a specific topic and using our success or failure on such a non-random search to judge the capability of this new tool.

    In an effort to provide a more systematic perspective, we decided to test the Web’s utility as a research tool on an agenda set by an outside source. To this end, we selected the 1997 Interim Studies assignments provided by the West Virginia Joint Committee on Government and Finance. The Joint Committee assigned 22 topics to various standing committees in the legislature with the expectation that the topics will be examined during the next legislative session.

    Some of the topics, such as welfare reform, arise from and respond to the national political agenda. Others were placed on the agenda because they were of current interest to state government officials. Others reemerge from previous years as the result of continuing resolutions from the previous legislative session. This is not unusual, as legislatures are deliberative bodies, and much of their business is conducted over several years as issues are placed on the legislative agenda and legislation is offered, debated, and frequently tabled. Often, policies evolve across several sessions. In fact, most of the items discussed in this article were placed on the legislative study calendar as a result of continuing resolutions. Legislation on these topics will be examined by the West Virginia legislature during the 1998 session. These Joint Committee assignments may be found on the 1997 Legislative Interim Committee Schedule.

Additional information on the West Virginia legislature can be obtained from

or the West Virginia legislature page sponsored by the West Virginia Library Commission.

Joint Standing Committee on Finance

1. Welfare Reform - Jobs Requirements

    Perhaps no issue is more predictable as a topic for this session than welfare reform. With the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), each state must now take significant steps to chart its own course in determining welfare policy.
The number of Web pages relevant for Welfare Reform is far too extensive to be adequately covered here. There are many that are worth a browse, and more than a few worth serious study. For those who want to go straight to the source, the complete text of the Welfare Reform Act is provided by the Library of Congress.

There are several places one can find analysis and summaries of the law, as well as state responses.

Of principal interest in the Welfare Reform act are the Jobs/Work requirements.

provides a quick state-by-state analysis ana summary of the work plan elements of the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) legislation.

They also provide a table outlining what other states have done, along with a brief summary of the TANF program elements for each state.

A number of other sites address work and job related issues. Quite notably, the National Governors’ Association provides several job related analyses.

Not to leave the entire field to the executive branch, the National Conference on State Legislatures also provides a page with several discussions on the topic.

Lastly, for those who thirst for still more welfare reform and poverty related sites, a few general indices will be useful.

 
2. Municipal Fees

While there appear to be few, if any, sites discussing municipal fees as a question of governance, there are many cities which have their city charters online. The sections on municipal fees will surface using one of the major Web search engines. It may be useful to see how the following cities handle fees for their municipal services.

3. Independent Health Care Providers Tax

It is somewhat more difficult to ascertain precisely what information might be most useful for this assignment. As a result, we will simply refer the reader to the Health Care Finance Administration as one of the principal sources of Med-icaid-related information.

4. Tamarack Visitors Center

The Tamarack Visitors Center in Beckley is clearly a West Virginia issue. Although the Web provides little information directly relevant to this particular facility, a picture of the Tamarack Center can be found on the West Virginia Tourism Page.

Visitors centers, state agencies for the arts and culture, and state economic development efforts, however, are not missing from the Web. Many cities have their convention and visitors centers on the Web. In addition, there are a number of centers aspiring to promote local crafts. A perusal of some of these sites helps place the Tamarack Center in perspective.

The Web offers no information on similar facilities, and its uniqueness is apparent. We encourage the development of the Tamarack Web page as an aid in its mission.

5. Building and Maintaining Highways

A discussion of highway construction and maintenance is facilitated by a quick look at the West Virginia Department of Transportation

For a discussion of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) reauthorization, see

This site includes the complete text of the reauthorization bill, known as the “National Economic Crossroads Transportation Efficiency Act of 1997” (NEXTEA).

Other sites worth a look include:

Joint Standing Committee on the Judiciary

1. Involuntary Civil Commitment Process

The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission of the State of Virginia has a brief summary of their legislation on their involuntary civil commitment procedures.

The policy position of the National Alliance for the Mentally III is also provided on the Web.

There are also many other discussion and summaries about involuntary commitment provided in a quick search on Yahoo!

2. Grandparents Visitation Rights

Grandparents visitation rights is a legal issue confronting the legislature. West Virginia is not alone in addressing this issue. For instance, the North Carolina Supreme Court recently handed down a decision limiting grandparents rights to sue for visitation.

can also be found on the Web. In addition, there is a West Virginia activist site on this particular piece of legislation.

3. Telemarketing Practices

The first place to search for information on telemarketing practices should be the Federal Trade Commission’s web page.

Because much of the concern over telemarketing arises out of concern for ethical practices, a short tour through the National Fraud Information Center

provides substantial information about some concerns in the industry. In particular, see the online form to report telemarketing fraud.

These concerns do not imply that this an industry rife with unethical practitioners. Indeed, the Direct Marketers Association provides information and guides, including a booklet on how to comply with the Telemarketing Sales Rule of the FTC.

4. Inexpensive Method to Plug Abandoned Wells

Plugging abandoned wells is a topic that interests many states, whether the wells be water, oil, or gas. Water wells get the most treatment with several sites including technical discussions.

5. Small Stream Flooding

The national weather service provides online definitions for its terminology on flash flooding and small stream flooding.

In addition, a small list of flooding and disaster relief links can be found at The Flood Page

For those interested in really researching the topic, there is an online bibliography on Flooding and Its Effects on Trees.

And when small stream flooding is in the wake of larger disasters, there is, of course, the Federal Emergency Management Agency

6. State Police Complaints

Complaints against law enforcement agencies are an inevitable element of the tension between the need to provide public safety and the rights of individuals. The Web offers us little that will shed light on this issue as a policy question for the West Virginia Legislature, but with a Yahoo search, it is easy to see that the issue arises in many other states. For instance, an individual set up a web page called The Police Complaint Center

that purports to list police abuse cases. This site’s utility is somewhat uncertain, in particular due to its lack of official sanction and the self-reporting of the acts. But, it was gratifying to see that no complaints about West Virginia police agencies were found in the small data set provided. Interestingly enough, this site demonstrates the Web’s power to allow an individual voice to be heard, and, at the same time, punctuates the fact that the Web does not come with a user's guide that indicates whether the information is well grounded. The reader is always cautioned to question any material found.

7. Noise Pollution - Shooting Ranges

While several shooting ranges have pages on the Web, there is little on those pages concerning noise pollution problems. One company, however, specializes in shooting range construction and advertises that their ranges are fully compliant with NIOSH regulations.

There are several sites of general interest in the area of noise pollution, most notably the Noise Pollution Clearinghouse.

Joint Standing Committee on Education

1. Higher Education Resource Allocation Model and Policies

Finding tools and models for allocating resources in efficient and equitable ways has always been a central task of government. State educational systems often are among the more difficult components of a state budget given the size of the programs, the diverse geographic coverage within a state, and the complexity of the task involved. In examining the resource allocation model for West Virginia’s Higher Education System, it may prove useful to look at South Carolina’s to see how another state has attempted the task.

More general information on financing education can be found as well.

The U.S. Department of Education also provides several search engines that will produce a number of sites with potentially relevant pages.

2. Review of Programs Available to Students at Risk

Programs for students-at-risk are also found on the Web. Two centers, funded by the U.S. Department of Education, are good places to start.

This latter research organization has a useful page in its Pathways magazine.

There are also many private groups and school advertisements on the Web that may be worth a quick browse.

Joint Standing Committee on Government Organization

1. Decentralizing Government Offices

Reorganizing government and distributing state agencies, services, and access around a state is a fascinating area of governance. Questions of efficiency versus equity often run into direct conflict when making decisions on where to locate government services, offices and agencies. The Web does not currently have any sites which dispense wisdom on this topic, and so we can only suggest looking at how other states have made similar decisions. A good place to start is the National Association of State Information Resource Executives search page.

From here one can find links to every state home page, as well as pages with links to various agencies organized by state.

2. State Boards and Commissions of Examination and Licensing

The StateSearch site also provides a set of links to a number of state licensing and regulatory agencies.

Because finding examples of how other states have approached similar problems is an invaluable tool for policymakers, the Web offers much through vehicles like StateSearch.

3. Crossbow Hunting

Several states provide their regulations for bowhunting online. Among them are

Joint Standing Committee on Pensions and Retirement

1. Deputy Sheriffs’Retirement and Disability Plans

This study assignment presents what might be described as the classic Web search problem. There appears to be little that one can find on this specific topic. Yet, a wealth of sites on general “Retirement and Disability Plans” exist. A quick Alta-Vista Search

will produce over 7,000 pages, all relevant to retirement and disability issues. Many of these are private sector businesses offering plans and programs and public sector organizations which have placed their retirement and disability policies on the Web. Navigating this maze to find anything appropriate is really best aided by knowing exactly what information is desired. AltaVista does provide a “Topics Map” based on a search which greatly assists winnowing these 7,000 pages down. Sometimes searching the Web is like panning for gold.

You sift through a lot of debris looking for nuggets, and sometimes you simply come up empty-handed. Disability and retirement plans are an area where information abounds, but what is useful is a function of knowing what specific information about the topic is desired.

Legislative Oversight Commission on Health and Human Resources Accountability

1. Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs)

Like disability and retirement, HMOs have a seemingly unmanageable number of relevant sites. Yet, some general utility pages can be found. For instance, Families USA provides a number of links on the issue of Managed Care Pro-viders.

Health Care Providers are often licensed and accredited, so the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations is worth a look.

The federal government also has sites of interest, most notably HCFA.

More than a small amount of research on managed care is available on the Web.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) maintains a current bibliography on HMOs.

Needless to say, pages for many HMOs can be found on the Web. One place to start browsing private service providers is Humana

Closer to home, the West Virginia Hospital Association provides updates on healthcare issues of particular note in West Virginia.

    Of course, not all information on the Web is free. The Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care provides several maps that are of considerable interest as teasers to induce you to order the printed version.

Separate Stand Alone Studies

1. Legal Services to Indigent Defendants

Offices of Public Defender can usually be found under state attorney general home pages. StateSearch provides links to a number of state offices

If one is hunting for further examples, try Illinois.

2. Disposal and Recycling of Scrap Tires

Scrap tires represent an environmental challenge of significant proportions. They are unsightly, provide habitat for mosquitos and other vermin and, if ignited, produce a significant source of hazardous emissions. Innovative solutions to scrap tire disposal are of interest to all. Several sites of interest include

With this last study assignment, as with several others, the direction you take on the Web is structured by those areas of foster care that are of greatest concern to you.

    Just as with a library card catalogue, the Web presents an organized array of information that can be further sorted by the individual, depending upon the specific information de-sired. We have tried to list sites of some usefulness for each of the study questions assigned to the legislature. Obviously, the topics on the national agenda, items such as welfare reform and HMOs, have numerous sites with vast quantities of useful information. More local issues, and highly specialized topics, have fewer sites and less information at the moment. All in all, we feel that anyone wishing to become more informed about these issues would benefit greatly from browsing the Web.

    Over the next several issues of the West Virginia Public Affairs Reporter, “What’s New on the ’Net” will examine several issues of interest to West Virginia’s state and local government officials, including state education policy, welfare reform and others. We would like to hear from our readers about particular Web sites of interest or value to you. Please send us your favorite Web page or anecdote about using the Web, and we will try to include them, when appropriate, in future articles. Please contact us at 304-293-3811 x5299, e-mail us at: bduval@wvu.edu or write to us at