66-58.12. Agencies may provide access to services through electronic and digital transactions; fees authorized.

(a) Public agencies are encouraged to maximize citizen and business access to their services through the use of electronic and digital transactions. A public agency may determine, through program and transaction analysis, which of its services may be made available to the public through electronic means, including the Internet. The agency shall identify any inhibitors to electronic transactions between the agency and the public, including legal, policy, financial, or privacy concerns and specific inhibitors unique to the agency or type of transaction. An agency shall not provide a transaction through the Internet that is impractical, unreasonable, or not permitted by laws pertaining to privacy or security.

(b) An agency may charge a fee to cover its costs of permitting a person to complete a transaction through the World Wide Web or other means of electronic access. The fee may be applied on a per transaction basis and may be calculated either as a flat fee or a percentage fee, as determined under an agreement between a person and a public agency. The fee may be collected by the agency or by its third party agent.

(c) The fee imposed under subsection (b) of this section must be approved by the Office of State Budget and Management, in consultation with the State Chief Information Officer and the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations. The revenue derived from the fee must be credited to a nonreverting agency reserve account. The funds in the account may be expended only for e-commerce initiatives and projects approved by the State Chief Information Officer, in consultation with the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Information Technology. For purposes of this subsection, the term "public agencies" does not include a county, unit, special district, or other political subdivision of government.

(d) This section does not apply to the Judicial Department.