It's time to telework: the advantages of working out of the office are getting lawmakers' attention.

• Author: Kolman, Joe

Janie Bowen is in charge of 900 employees who have one job: collecting all the taxes in Virginia. The tax commissioner cares intensely about completing the task, but worries much less about whether her employees are working in the office or at home.

"If it gets done, I don't care where you do it," says Bowen, an ardent cheerleader of what is known as teleworking or telecommuting--the practice of working outside a traditional office. Her agency--where more than half the employees telework at least one day a week--is at the fore of a statewide effort to increase the number of teleworkers in Virginia.

Rising gas prices, clogged roadways and increased worries about climate change are just some of the reasons advocates say there should be renewed interest in telecommuting from state governments and private employers.

Many states have a law or state agency policy, says Chuck Wilsker of the national Telework Coalition, a group that pushes for telework legislation and opportunities. But some set goals with no follow through or simply "encourage" state government or private businesses to establish telework programs.

"It's one thing to have legislation," Wilsker says, "and it's another to actually have it work."

Through legislation, executive orders and agency rules, state officials are trying to boost the number of people working from home. Some set targets for the percentage of state workers who should telecommute. Some have established tax breaks for employers who implement programs. Virginia is considering small budget cuts for agencies that fail to meet telework goals.

"You need at least a large carrot and maybe a small hammer," says Virginia Delegate Tim Hugo, who heads an interim committee on telework. He wants to propose legislation that if an agency does not meet its telecommuting goal, then it loses a small bit of its budget, maybe 1 percent. On the other hand, if an agency meets the goal, it can keep the money it saves. He would also consider a limited tax break for private businesses. Teleworking alone can't solve traffic and environmental problems, he says, but it can be part of the answer.

CUTTING DOWN ON GRIDLOCK

Telecommuting is a relatively untapped resource as a solution to gridlock, says Washington Senator Ken Jacobsen, whose district includes part of Seattle. The senator admits he's from the typewriter and punch clock generation, but he sees advantages in teleworking and says there's broad support for it among his constituents. The average commute on almost every route in the Central Pudget Sound area has...