NY Senate releases iPad app #opengov

NY State SenateThe New York State Senate today announced availability of “NYSenate for iPad,” the first application in the nation developed by a legislative body for the Apple iPad. The application can be downloaded for free today from the Apple iTunes App Store.

Like its predecessor, NYSenate Mobile for iPhones and Android phones, the app enables users to search for bill information, contact their Senator, review event calendars, read Senator’s blogs, watch archived video of Senate Session, Committee Meetings and Public Hearings, and even submit Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests.

“NYSenate for iPad” was built entirely in-house by Senate staff, at no additional cost to taxpayers. As with all software developed within the Senate, this mobile app has also been released at (see http://github.com/nysenatecio) under dual BSD and GPLv3 open-source software licenses; other legislatures, as well as non-profit organizations, media and small businesses are free to leverage the software to develop their own custom applications for the iPad.