Pierre, SD - Secretary of State Jason Gant announced today the short term results of his new initiatives which have been recently converted from paper filings to an on-line format, and he couldn’t be happier. “The results we are experiencing are nothing short of phenomenal,” Gant said.
 
Gant announced that “The new on-line corporate renewal system. Open for Business, which was placed into service this past August is experiencing an 86% adoption rate among those corporations who are renewing their annual registration. Out of nearly 16,000 reports filed with our office, over 13,600 were filed with the Open for Business system. Since the system’s creation, only 2,271 corporate filers chose to remain on paper.”
 
“The new on-line system has cut down mistakes, mailing costs, printing costs, staff keypunching time, and even equipment and maintenance costs that we would normally experience.  This conversion to an on-line system is a resounding success in terms of how State Government can do a better job for our customers,” Gant said.
 
Gant also noted the more recent adoption of his EZ Lobby system for South Dakota lobbyists. “Our new system has been in place for 1 month, and we are already at a 45% adoption rate for South Dakota Lobbyists. It’s my hope as people become more comfortable with the technology, that this number will continue to expand.”
 
“In addition to the significant number of lobbyists who have adopted the system, this year will mark the first time ever that lobbyist and lobbyist employer expense reports are available on-line, making this not just a leap in technology, but a continued victory for open government,” Gant said.
 
Finally, as it rolls out into full production, Gant’s new campaign finance system known as the C.A.S.H. system is already receiving high usage in it’s first days with over 200 early adopters filing their reports due February 1 exclusively on-line.  “We won’t have statistics until all reports are in,” Gant said. “However, early estimates also seem to indicate that we may be in the 40-50% range.”
 
Open for Business, C.A.S.H., and EZ Lobby can all be viewed on Secretary of State Gant’s website at www.sdsos.gov­.