Issue
Brief
Electronic Transactions and
Signatures
Bureau
of Information and Telecommunications
Synopsis: The acceptance of electronic
transactions and signatures would support the growing use of electronic
commerce in
Background
Electronic commerce refers to conducting business
transactions via the electronic processing and transmission of data. Electronic
commerce is dependent upon the use and acceptance of electronic records,
electronic transactions and electronic signatures.
Electronic records are records created, generated, sent,
communicated, received or stored by electronic means.
Electronic transactions are a set of actions occurring
between two or more persons relating to the conduct of business, commercial or
governmental affairs.
Electronic signatures are a method of signing a record,
through electronic means, that identifies or authenticates a particular person
as the source of the record. It also indicates the person’s approval of the
information contained in the record.
In 1998, electronic commerce totaled $22 billion.
Projections for the beginning of the new decade range to $300 billion. 37% of
State
of
As
of December 1999, 45 states have passed legislation covering electronic
signatures or electronic commerce. Of the five states (
In order to provide a uniform approach to eliminate barriers
to electronic commerce, the project to draft the Uniform Electronic
Transactions Act (UETA) has been conducted by the National Conference of
Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL).
UETA is designed for adoption by all states to support the
use of electronic commerce. The primary objective of this act is to establish
the legal equivalence of electronic records and signatures with paper writings
and manually signed signatures, thus removing barriers to electronic commerce.
UETA also addresses the use of electronic commerce in connection with
government transactions.
As of
Proposed
Legislation
In
order to provide legislative authority for the use and acceptance of electronic
transactions and signatures, Senate Bill 193 has been introduced. The legislation does not require or dictate
the use or acceptance of electronic transactions and signatures. It merely
provides for their use and acceptance. This legislation will provide a means to
take advantage of the benefits of technology to participate in electronic
commerce.
The Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) provides the basis for Senate
Bill 193. The legislation focuses primarily on the legality of electronic
records and electronic signatures. The proposed legislation provides that the
use of electronic records meets legal writing requirements and that the use of
electronic signatures meets legal signing requirements.
This legislation will provide standard rules pertaining to
the use and acceptance of electronic transactions, records and signatures,
without the need for each governmental entity or agency to develop their own
set of rules.
What
Does This Mean to You?
By
providing legislative authority for the use and acceptance of electronic
transactions and signatures, electronic commerce will be allowed to thrive in
Most
notably, electronic commerce will help government’s constituents, the
taxpayers, by providing them with convenience. Electronic commerce can put an
end to long lines and hurried trips to town during limited service hours.
Already, electronic commerce applications allow citizens to be distributed
benefits, fill out on-line job applications and purchase goods and services
on-line.
Taxpayers
will also benefit from electronic commerce’s timeliness factor. Activities such
as tax or forms filings will be handled in a timelier manner. What used to take
weeks or months to process now occurs in hours, days or weeks at the most,
according to government tax administrators with electronic filing services.
This level of customer service also benefits the taxpayers by allowing
government to deliver improved, streamlined services at less cost.
Additional
Resources
The Uniform
Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) is available via the Internet: - http://www.law.upenn.edu/library/ulc/uecicta/uetast84.htm
SB 193 is also
available via the Internet: – http://www.state.sd.us/state/legis/lrc/lawstat/https/75/193.htm
Contact
605-773-5110
webmaster@state.sd.us