Accepting Nominations for the 2014 Robert J. Colborn Innovation Award

The Administrative Codes and Registers’ Awards Committee is taking nominations for the 2014 Colborn Award.  This year, the committee consists of Ken Hansen (UT; chair), Kerry Radcliff (WA) and Liz Cloud (FL).  The Colborn Award is presented annually by Administrative Codes and Registers (ACR), a section of the National Association of Secretaries of State, to recognize a program that demonstrates innovation and creativity in providing public access to, or management of, administrative rules.

The nominations packet and form with complete instructions has been posted on the Colborn Award page available at:  http://www.administrativerules.org/colborn-award/nomination-package/ .

Nominations are due Friday, June 6, 2014.

The award will be presented at the ACR Summer Conference held in Baltimore, MD, July 13-16, 2014.

NASS Administrative Rules Organization Honors Florida’s Division of Library and Information Services as 2011 Robert J. Colborn, Jr. Innovation Award Winner

Florida’s Division of Library and Information Services Recognized for Implementation of a Program to Hyperlink Materials Incorporated by Rules in the On-line Version of the Florida Administrative Code

The Administrative Codes and Registers (ACR) Section of the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS), which recently held its annual meeting in Glade Springs Resort, WV, awarded Florida’s Department of State, Division of Library and Information Services with the 2011 Robert J. Colburn, Jr. Innovation Award.  The Division of Library and Information Services was selected for implementing a program to hyperlink materials incorporated by rules in the online version of the Florida Administrative Code.

The online version of the Florida Administrative Code contains highlighted text whenever incorporated materials are referenced.  Benefits of this new program include greater access of incorporated materials.  With a simple click of the mouse, citizens can obtain immediate access to the complete text of the incorporated material.  For state registrars and publishers, electronic and dated materials replace the voluminous materials that required organizing, archiving and disposing.  And more importantly, the rule is hyperlinked to the true legal version of the incorporated materials, eliminating confusion with multiple versions of the same material.

Administrative Codes and Registers (ACR), a section of the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS), created the Robert J. Colborn, Jr. Innovation Award in July 2001 in honor of Robert J. Colborn, Jr., who served as the administrator of the Maryland Division of State Documents from 1974 through 2001 and founded ACR. The Robert J. Colborn, Jr. Innovation Award annually recognizes a program that demonstrates creativity and innovation in providing public access to or managing administrative rules. It honors the state agency that has made substantial contributions to the flow of information to the public by improving efficiency and delivery of services to citizens, businesses and other governmental entities.

“Florida has been a leader in E-government services since creating FLrules.org, an online rulemaking system in 2006,” said Florida Secretary of State Kurt Browning. “Our staff in Florida’s Division of Library and Information Services are among the most innovative and dedicated workers in the country, and I am proud of their latest accomplishment, providing the public with easy access to state government information.”

Elizabeth Palen (VA) presents the 2011 Colborn Award to Florida Secretary of State Kurt S. Browning for Florida's system for hyperlinked incorporated by reference materials

2011 ACR Robert J. Colborn Jr. Committee

• Chair: Molly Masich, Codifier of Rules, North Carolina Office of Administrative Hearings
• Member: Elizabeth Palen, Executive Director, Joint Commission on Administrative Rules, Richmond, VA
• Member: John H. Martinez, Director, Administrative Law Division, New Mexico State Records Center and Archives, Santa Fe, NM

Past Colborn Award Recipients

• 2010 — Administrative Law Division / New Mexico State Records Center and Archives
• 2009 — Virginia Division of Legislative Services / Virginia Code Commission
• 2008 — Arkansas Secretary of State
• 2007 — Colorado Secretary of State
• 2006 — Idaho Department of Health and Welfare
• 2004 — Missouri Secretary of State, Administrative Rules Division
• 2003 — Office of the Federal Register
• 2002 — Virginia Department of Planning and Budget, Virginia Regulatory Townhall

2011 Colborn Award — Nominations Now Being Accepted

The Administrative Codes and Registers’ Awards Committee is taking nominations for the 2011 Colborn Award.  This year, the committee consists of Molly Masich (NC; chair), Elizabeth Palen (VA) and John Martinez (NM).  The Colborn Award is presented annually by ACR to recognize a program that demonstrates innovation and creativity in providing public access to, or management of, administrative rules.

The nominations packet and form with complete instructions has been posted on the Colborn Award page available at:  http://www.administrativerules.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=93&Itemid=56 .

The deadline for submitting nominations is Friday, June 10, 2011.

2010 Colborn Award Presented to New Mexico

The 2010 Robert J. Colborn, Jr., Innovation Award was presented to the New Mexico State Records Center and Archives, Division of Administrative Law for its New Mexico On-line State Rules Training.  More information is available at http://www.administrativerules.org/?page_id=126.

Virginia Recognized with 2009 Colborn Award

At its 2009 summer conference held in Minneapolis, MN, Administrative Codes and Registers (ACR) recognized the Virginia Division of Legislative Services and the Virginia Code Commission with the 2009 Colborn Award.  The award was presented in recognition for Virginia’s  for creation of a current online Administrative Code that works in conjunction with the Virginia Regulatory Town Hall website.  More information about Virginia’s project may be found at http://www.administrativerules.org/?page_id=129.

Arkansas Receives Colborn Award

On July 27, 2008, Administrative Codes and Registers (ACR) recognized the work of the Arkansas Secretary of State’s Office and Jon Davidson for their work to make Arkansas rules accessible.

Jon Davidson (AR, left) receives Colborn Award from Dennis Stevenson (ID, right).

Jon Davidson (AR; left) receives the Colborn award from Dennis Stevenson (ID; Colborn Committee Chair; right).

Of Arkansas’ and Mr. Davidson’s efforts, Mr. Stevenson observed:

The Arkansas Register is a bit of a Cinderella story and, while technically this system is not as elaborate or complex as many we’ve seen in other states, the fact that Jon was dedicated to elevating the Arkansas Register to its proper place in the hierarchy of Arkansas state government documents reflects not only why ACR created the Robert J. Colborn, Jr. Innovation Award, but goes to the very core of what ACR is and why it exists. What has happened with the Arkansas Register is a great example of a rising ACR ocean lifting all boats.

As [the awards] committee, we recognized that for each state that has a state of the art electronic system, there is another state where the Code and Register editors are still in the trenches fighting to make its own government understand the importance of its administrative rules and the difference they make in people’s lives. The Arkansas Register has shown the importance of making a state’s rules and policies available to the public and that open government always makes for better government.

More information is available from the AR Secretary of State’s Office, and from ACR’s web site.

Colorado Rules Office Receives 2007 Colborn Award

Administrative Codes and Registers presented the 2007 Colborn Award to the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office for their development and implementation of the online Code of Colorado Regulations.  Government Technology has the story.