When Rep. Bob Martinson, R-Bismarck, envisions the lawmaking process of tomorrow, he sees lawmakers seamlessly connected to each other and to the public through the Internet.

"I think someday we'll be at the point where we'll have cameras in each of these (committee hearing) rooms and people outside of Bismarck can watch everything we do over the Internet," he said.

Martinson is chairing the Legislator Computer Replacement Task Force, which met Wednesday to discuss the immediate next steps in making this future a reality.

The task force weighed competing offers for new computers from laptop vendors and discussed how BlackBerrys for lawmakers, along with SMART Boards and plasma screens for committee rooms, could innovate the legislative process.

Lawmakers use older model IBM laptops that they place on their desks in the chamber. In addition to general functions, they let lawmakers access their state e-mail accounts and log onto a system that shows bills.

After viewing presentations from numerous vendors, lawmakers chose Hewlett Packard model computers that were the low bid among the bunch. At $1,268.40 per unit for 177 lawmakers and staffers, it will cost the state about $224,500.

But the new laptops will simply be an update on technology the lawmakers are already using.

Rep. Jim Kasper, R-Fargo, said BlackBerry devices could be useful to keep lawmakers in touch as they shuffle around the Capitol for various meetings throughout the day. They would be especially useful when committee clerks need to track down a lawmaker who's absent from a committee meeting.

"This would be instantaneous communication with every legislator in the building and throughout the day," he said.

A major advantage of having such BlackBerry devices is that lawmakers could be in constant touch with their state e-mail accounts in a secure fashion. They can do this in a roundabout manner today -accessing the server from an online application on a personal BlackBerry - but this method is less secure.

Common among corporate employees, lawyers and political staffers, BlackBerrys essentially provide a cell phone and mobile e-mail service in one device. About 170 state employees use BlackBerrys for their jobs, according to state Information Technology Department.

Another issue is who pays for the devices.

Rep. Bob Skarphol, R-Tioga, said he'd like to see some study of split billing so that its possible the state could pay for essential functions like checking state e-mail while the lawmakers themselves would pay for their cell phone minutes.

BlackBerry-clad lawmakers also could find themselves in committee rooms where presentations are made digitally in front of committees. Some could be made on boards where presenters could digitally write on the boards as they move along in their presentations.

Kasper said he thinks the public sometimes feels left out when lawmakers are holding discussions using paper handouts that attendees often don't get copies of.

(Reach reporter Jonathan Rivoli at 223-8482 or jonathan.rivoli@bismarcktribune.com.)