The Center for Digital Government (CDG) has again ranked the official website for the state of Kansas, Kansas.gov as a “Finalist” in the State Portal Category for the Best of the Web (BOW) awards. Through its annual BOW awards, the CDG recognizes outstanding government portals and websites, based on their innovation, functionality, productivity and performance. In their awards announcement, the CDG praised the Information Network of Kansas for its mobile-first approach to site development. The site’s clean layout and improvements to accessibility also helped Kansas stand out from the pack.

Kansas is the nation’s birthplace of electronic government. For more than 20 years, Kansas has been a consistent leader in producing award-winning eGovernment services. The Kansas.gov portal’s overall content theme aligns with Governor Brownback’s “Roadmap for Kansas.” Core components of the visual strategy include vibrant photos submitted by Kansans that represent the majestic beauty of Kansas.

“The success of this website is in its ability to serve the citizens of our state,” said Governor Sam Brownback. “I am pleased that the website, which reflects the collaboration of state agencies, has been recognized as an effective tool to serve Kansans.”

The new website was developed in cooperation with several key state agencies and at no cost to the state through the self-funded model. The completely new Kansas.gov website benefits citizens with a greatly simplified home page, a complete content reorganization, and a focus on mobile-first technology to provide a streamlined interface for users who visit the site through desktop, smart phones or tablets.

“On behalf of the board of directors of the INK and the Kansas agencies, boards, commissions and councils, we are extremely pleased to accept this recognition”, said Jim Hollingsworth the Executive Director of the Information Network of Kansas. “This award is shared with our state partners in all three branches of government who work every day to serve the citizens of Kansas.”

Dentists and hygienists in the state of Kansas can once again renew their licenses online. The Kansas Dental Board License Renewal application, developed in partnership with the Information Network of Kansas, allows dental professionals to take care of their renewals quickly and conveniently online instead of the old manual process of mailing paper forms.

Dentists and hygienists with licenses expiring in 2014 will be receiving notifications with instructions on how to conduct their online renewal.

“The renewal notifications represent a great efficiency for the Kansas Dental Board. After launching the renewal notices in 2013, we received great feedback from our licensees. Everyone appreciates the convenience offered by online renewals,” said B. Lane Hemsley, Executive Director, Kansas Dental Board.

To renew online, visit https://www.kansas.gov/ssrv-dbr/index.html.

The Information Network of Kansas (INK) will be continuing its outsourced eGovernment agreement with Topeka-based Kansas Information Consortium, LLC. The seven-year contract includes an annual renewal process INK can exercise to extend the contract for additional one-year periods.The new contract was approved by the INK board of directors and went into effect July 18, 2014.

Kansas Information Consortium, LLC will continue providing eGovernment services at no cost to the state.

“The board of directors is pleased to announce the execution of this long term contract with the nation’s leading provider of egovernment services,” said Jim Hollingsworth, Executive Director of the Information Network of Kansas. “This reaffirms that INK will be able to provide for a variety of large-scale eGovernment projects and sustain ongoing innovation for years to come.”

In its 22-year partnership with INK, Kansas Information Consortium has worked with more than 200 state agencies, boards, commissions, and local governments to deliver convenient online services. Currently, the company manages over 900 interactive services through http://www.kansas.gov. A member of the NIC Inc. (NASDAQ: EGOV) family of companies, the company has developed a variety of online services, websites, and mobile applications for the state, including court record searches, income tax filings and property tax payments.

“Every government partnership is extremely important to us,” said Harry Herington, NIC Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board. “However, as our very first contract, the partnership between Kansas and NIC is especially meaningful, and I truly appreciate the confidence they place in us, as well as their continuing eGovernment leadership.”

The Kansas Department of Aging and Disability Services (KDADS), in collaboration with Kansas.gov, provides applicable employers with online access to criminal records.

Persons operating a facility or facilities licensed under the Kansas Adult Care Home Act or Kansas Home Health Licensure Law are able by law to process criminal background checks on potential employees. This law was established to prevent individuals, including juveniles, with serious criminal histories from working in said licensed facilities. The basic premise is that people who have serious criminal histories should not be responsible for the care of the frail or elderly citizens of Kansas.

To conduct an online criminal record check, applicable facilities will need the following:

Valid form of payment: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, Electronic Check or Kansas.gov Subscriber account: sign up at www.kansas.gov/subscriber
Facility ID number

Kansas residents can visit Kansas WebFile beginning early January 2016 to file their 2015 Kansas Individual Income Tax Returns online. Filing individual income taxes online removes the onerous process of filling out paper forms, and is the fastest way for taxpayers to receive refunds, according to the Kansas Department of Revenue. Last year, the Department of Revenue received over 1.3 million individual income tax returns electronically.

Online filing through WebFile is easy to use, secure, fast and allows taxpayer refunds to be directly deposited into their bank account. Paper-filed returns do not qualify for direct deposit funds.

Required for online filing:

Access code (PIN),
All 2015 W-2 statements,
Required filers will need a completed 2015 Federal income tax return.
Taxpayers who file online and request a direct deposit can expect to receive their refund up to 80 percent quicker than filing with traditional paper forms. The Kansas Department of Revenue’s web refund status system is an easy way to track the progress of refunds.

The 2015 Individual Income Tax Return deadline is April 18, 2016. Save time and file online today at: https://www.kansas.gov/webfile.

The first session for property tax payments in Kansas closes on December 21, 2015. Kansas County Treasurer’s Association has partnered with Kansas.gov to provide a convenient online solution which allows constituents to process property tax payments electronically, from their desktop or mobile device at https://www.kansas.gov/propertytax/.

What you will need to pay online:

A Kansas county property tax statement;
A form of payment (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express or e-Check);
A KanAccess username and password (sign up here).

The Kansas.gov Property Tax Payment application allows taxpayers the opportunity to make property tax payments on their desktop or mobile device.

This online service is provided by Kansas.gov, a third-party working under a contract awarded and administered by the Information Network of Kansas (INK). The online price of items or services purchased through Kansas.gov, the state’s official web portal, include funds used to develop, maintain, enhance, and expand the service offerings of the state’s portal.