Nebraska Signs New eGovernment Portal Contract with NIC; Nebraska Interactive to Manage the State's Official Web Services for up to Six Years

LINCOLN, Neb.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 16, 2004--The state of Nebraska has signed a new long-term contract with Nebraska Interactive, Inc., to manage its official government portal (www.nebraska.gov). The contract includes an initial three-year term and renewal options that run through January 2010. Nebraska Interactive built and has managed the state's Nebrask@ Online portal for nine years and is a wholly owned subsidiary of eGovernment firm NIC (Nasdaq:EGOV).

Nebraska Interactive signed its original multiyear contract with the state in January 1995. Legislative action required a re-bid of the contract in 1997, and Nebraska Interactive was the successful bidder. After fulfilling the original four-year term and exercising both renewal options, Nebraska Interactive's current contract with the state will end on January 31, 2004. The state of Nebraska issued a bid for eGovernment portal services in spring 2003, and the contract was awarded again to Nebraska Interactive after a competitive review.

“Nebraska was our second eGovernment contract and one of the first states to recognize the extraordinary value of the self-funding approach, and we are proud of the results of our partnership during the last nine years”

The new contract's base term and renewal options will span six years. The Nebraska State Records Board approved the contract on January 13, 2004. The 12-member board oversees the state portal's operations and is comprised of private and public sector representatives. The State Records Board also reviews individual agency agreements with Nebraska Interactive, sets policies, and approves new portal services.

Nebrask@ Online is considered to be the second-oldest state eGovernment portal in the country. Nebraska was also the second state to use a self-funding model to fund online government services, and 15 other states have since adopted the same business model to build eGovernment solutions without using upfront taxpayer dollars. During the last nine years, Nebraska Interactive has worked with more than 70 state agencies and nearly 60 county governments to develop over 300,000 pages of content for Nebrask@ Online. In 2003, the portal conducted nearly five million interactive transactions.

"When Nebraska became one of the first states to offer eGovernment services in early 1995, the goal was to offer constituents faster and easier access to government information," said Secretary of State John Gale, Chairman of the Nebraska State Records Board. "Nebraska is using the Internet to better serve its citizens and businesses, and I am confident that Nebraska Interactive and NIC will continue to deliver great results under the new contract."

Nebrask@ Online currently offers nearly 200 interactive government services for businesses and citizens, including applications that support online Uniform Commercial Code filings with the Nebraska Secretary of State, professional license renewals, and water well registrations. In January 2004, Nebrask@ Online launched the JUSTICE system, providing online access to county and district court records statewide.

Nebraska is consistently recognized for its digital government efforts. Nebrask@ Online was a finalist for the national Best of the Web award in 2001 and 2002, and the network's County eGovernment initiative also earned a Best of the Web honorable mention in 2002. The state of Nebraska also received the Digital State Survey's number one ranking in the taxation category from the Center for Digital Government in 2002. Nebrask@ Online supported this effort through development of several online tax filing applications for the Nebraska Department of Revenue.

"Nebraska was our second eGovernment contract and one of the first states to recognize the extraordinary value of the self-funding approach, and we are proud of the results of our partnership during the last nine years," said Jeff Fraser, Chief Executive Officer of NIC. "We thank the state of Nebraska for its vote of confidence and look forward to enhancing the state's online government services during the next six years."

About Nebrask@ Online

Nebraska Interactive, Inc. is responsible for Nebrask@ Online, the official state Web portal (www.nebraska.gov) and provider of electronic government solutions for the state. The network manager for Nebrask@ Online is Nebraska Interactive, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of eGovernment firm NIC.

About NIC

NIC manages more eGovernment services than any provider in the world. The company helps government communicate more effectively with citizens and businesses by putting essential services online. NIC provides eGovernment solutions for 1,400 state and local agencies that serve more than 71 million people in the United States. Additional information is available at www.nicusa.com.