GIS business plan workshop

I'm off to Hope to address leaders in the area of geographic information systems at lunch today. Earlier this year, I sponsored legislation to rename the Arkansas State Land Information Board to the Arkansas Geographic Information Systems Board (Act 244). The legislation also required the board to make the statewide digital cadastre system a mandatory function. The data that the agency can produce is fascinating, and it shows what technology can do not only to help economic development efforts but to to help government agencies provide a rapid response after specific events such as natural disasters. Think of Google Earth on steroids.

For example, a radar overlay of a tornado can automatically produce the names and contact information of all property owners in and adjacent to the path of the storm. The agency has used this information to distribute to law enforcement and utility providers to speed along the recovery process.

Another: a developer may have a need for a certain parcel of land within 3 miles of a major water source and within 10 miles of an interstate highway in an area with access to a workforce that includes at least 2,500 college graduates. Within seconds, this agency would be able to pinpoint every area in the state that meets that criteria. As Governor Beebe has said:

"The impetus ... for those who are foot dragging at this juncture to speed up their own efforts to make their community more competitive. If your community is not on here, if your community is only here with half of the things that it should have on it, if your community hasn't in effect done those things that they can do to put their best foot forward and have it reflected on something that is going to be viewed by site selectors across ... the world as we have seen in recent months, then you are going to fall behind."