Tech Talk: Legislature Upgrades | Video

Jerame Novak | 1/9/2013

One of the most noticeable changes to the legislative chamber this year is an upgrade to a familiar fixture. "Since the last legislative session, we`ve installed new voting boards in both chambers. They`re Daktronic voting boards, similar to what you have in a stadium," said ND Legislative Council Information Technology Manager Kyle Forster.

Now, instead of just tallying votes, legislators can also show Power Point presentations to help sway favor for their proposals.

The upgrades to the chambers aren`t just for legislators; voters will be able to watch the lawmaking process from anywhere. "Essentially, the cameras will have live feeds from both the House and the Senate," Forster said.

Not only have there been some upgrades to the legislative chambers, but there`s been some changes online as well.

"We rolled out a new website shortly before the organizational session in December. The new site is more streamlined, it will be easier to find information," Forster said.

But for some legislators, despite all the improvements, there is still a learning curve.

"Sometimes, it`s a little hard to keep up with how much advancing we do. Especially when this is a citizen legislature when you come in three, four months every two years. You know, so you have to learn things again. And it just takes a short time to do that," said Rep. Jeff Delzer (R - Underwood).

The cost for these upgrades, including the board and website, were about one million dollars. But it`s priceless for residents of North Dakota, who will now be able to see the legislative session in a whole new light.

Forster says in the future, there will also be cameras in the Harvest and Roughrider rooms.

You can see the new website at www.legis.nd.gov.

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