Governor’s Office Goes Paperless

Governor’s office goes paperless. Courtesy photo.

Governor David Ige today moved his administration and state government one step closer to a more efficient “paperless” environment, with plans to begin using electronic signatures and processing all documents electronically, starting Oct. 1, 2015.

The governor’s office also instructed departments to submit documents using an electronic routing form template.

According to Gov. Ige, signed electronic documents will be returned to departments via encrypted email, rather than the traditional, and “less efficient” hard-copy process.

Governor’s office goes paperless. Courtesy photo.

Since taking office on December 1, 2014, Gov. Ige has reportedly signed an estimated 1,180 departmental documents.

“To the extent possible, our goal is to eventually implement a secure electronic signature process across all departments, putting an end to what has been historically a very paper heavy process,” said Gov. Ige.  “Some of the departments have already elected to participate in the eSign program.”

Gov. Ige participated in a training session on the eSign program on Sept. 29.

Governor’s office goes paperless. Courtesy photo.

In his State of the State address in January, Gov. Ige committed to reducing the amount of paper the state uses and “transforming the culture of government to embrace and accelerate change.”

In July, the Department of Human Resources Development authorized departments to utilize electronic signatures/electronic records in lieu of existing paper forms previously developed and authorized for human resources purposes.

In addition, the Office of Information Management and Technology and the Information and Communication Services Division partnered with DHRD to evaluate potential enterprise-wide electronic signature/record solutions.

“I applaud the leadership of Director Nishimoto, CIO Nacapuy and their teams for spearheading this collaborative effort, which will enhance the operating efficiency and transition of our state government to a more sustainable working environment,” Gov. Ige said.