Maryland eyes being 'e-commerce state'
The state's Internet Technology Board is proposing Internet legislation and policies to pave the way for electronic commerce in Maryland and establish it as the ecommerce state.
The recommendations were made at last week's Maryland Internet Summit as part of a report presented to Gov. Parris Glendening by board chairman Major F. Riddick Jr. The policies are tied to a set of high-tech bills that will be introduced in the next legislative session.
"We want to brand Maryland as the e-commerce state," Riddick told The Washington Post.
Other initiatives include the following:
Moving 80 percent of state agencies online by 2004.
Giving everyone born in the state e-mail addresses at birth.
Increasing economic development funding for Internet start-up companies.
Providing matching grants for university programs that teach electronic commerce.
"Maryland is poised to join the front ranks of leading Internet-savvy states," said Jeff Richards, executive director of the Internet Alliance, a consumer industry association.