That’s why when I announced I was giving up my position as House Majority Leader to run for Secretary of State I said that, in addition to the all important issue of election fraud, I wanted to focus attention on three new and vitally important areas as well.  These are:  The expansion of e-government, corporate and non-profit oversight, and privacy protection. 

E-Government

According to a recently released national study, West Virginia ranks 46th in E-Government capabilities and service.  While the Secretary of State’s office has made great strides over the last 6 ½ years, there is still much to be done in that office and throughout state government to bring us up to the level of services offered by other states.  For example, while businesses can currently register on-line, they can’t file annual reports or make other required corporate filings and updates on-line.

Because of the expertise the office has gained in implementing the Help America Vote Act, and the associated technological upgrades that the office has had to manage in the process, the Secretary of State’s office is uniquely positioned to be the lead agency in state government to implement and supervise the expansion in this important area. 

Think of it this way.  Wherever you currently have to stand in line or depend on the post office to submit a form, pay a fee, renew a license or file paperwork with the state, you ought to be able to accomplish the same thing from the convenience of your home or office computer.

This capability, if fully implemented, will allow for a “virtual Secretary of State’s Office” to be open seven days a week, three-hundred and sixty-five days a year. Having such twenty-four hour access is one of the reasons that businesses frequently site in their decision to incorporate in Delaware. 

Non-Profit and Corporate Fraud Oversight

Advances in technology can help us prevent a repeat of the Wyoming County Senior Center debacle.  By requiring that reports and documents be filed electronically, we can set up our computer system to automatically monitor and flag potential fraud or abuse for further investigation.  It is particularly important that organizations that utilize pubic funds are carefully monitored to ensure that such monies are used for the purposes for which they were intended. 

Right now the Secretary of State’s office basically serves as the repository of charitable, non-profit and corporate documents.  It makes sense that, in addition to simply warehousing those documents, the office should be able to review and investigate suspected cases of fraud and wrongdoing.

To accomplish this we’ll need to seek broader powers from the legislature to give the office the same power to investigate corporate and charitable fraud, as it currently has to investigate election fraud.  These expanded powers will allow us to help protect West Virginians from scams and unscrupulous business practices. 

Privacy Protection

The blessings of technological advancement are not without their curses as well.  While computers have created a virtual electronic door to the marketplace and commerce on our desktops, they have also allowed criminals and thieves to slip through that same door.

Identity theft is a billion dollar problem and it’s growing each year.  It seems that programmers and law enforcement can barely keep a step ahead of hackers and thieves in their quest to exploit technology for their illegal pursuits.

Since the Secretary of State’s office is the repository for so much personal information, it’s imperative that we have strong anti-identity theft measures in place so that we don’t become unwitting accomplices to identity thieves. 

I was proud to fight for the passage of one such bill proposed last year by Secretary of State Betty Ireland that protected the victims of domestic abuse by shielding their addresses on their voter registration cards.  That’s a great example of a common sense approach to protecting personal information that must be expanded in order to meet the cyber threat.

As a member of the House of Delegates and as Majority Leader I’ve always tried to utilize the tools that where readily available to accomplish new and better things for my constituents and for West Virginia.  I think the Guardian Angel bill, where we utilize cameras installed on our interstate highways for traffic and weather monitoring purposes to look for vehicles associated with an Amber Alert, is a prime example of that.

I think we have an opportunity to use technology and a little outside of the box thinking to better serve and protect the people of West Virginia by creating a Secretary of State’s office for the 21st century.