NIC, AOL Strike State Government Deal

By William Welsh, Staff Writer

AUG. 29 - National Information Consortium Inc. announced today that it has signed a three-year agreement with American Online Inc. to deliver state government information, services and applications through AOL's Government Guide.

AOL's Government Guide will provide "an opportunity for us to extend our relationship with state governments by providing a major new channel for service delivery," said NIC CEO Jim Dodd.

Under the agreement, Overland Park, Kan.-based NIC will work with all 50 states, including its 12 existing state portal partners and the 23 states in which it has application agreements.

AOL of Dulles, Va., is in the process of redesigning its Government Guide (www.governmentguide.com) and the agreement with NIC will provide AOL's 23 million users with the ability to conduct online transactions with their state government. These transactions might include registration of motor vehicles, purchase of hunting and fishing licenses, and the making of state park reservations, according to NIC.

NIC will help AOL "deliver state government information and services to citizens and businesses faster" than it could by itself, said Kathleen deLaski, AOL's director of political and government programming.

NIC had $57 million in sales during 1999, while AOL had $6.8 billion in sales during fiscal 2000, according to Hoover's Online of Austin, Texas.