The paperless office is here.

• Author: Sloca, Paul

Thirty years ago, they said these dandy new machines called computers were going to dispense with paperwork altogether. Well, not quite, but this Missouri lawmaker is coming close.

Stepping into Representative Rob Schaaf's small, out-of-the way office in the stately old Missouri Capitol is like crossing a threshold into the future.

There are none of the trappings of most legislative offices--no secretary to greet visitors and handle the typing, no filing cabinet overflowing with documents. But if Schaaf, a freshman Republican from St. Joseph, has stepped out, his legislative assistant invites visitors to have a seat in front of a digital camera--and leave a message on videodisc.

Business cards, meeting notices and other documents delivered to the office are promptly scanned into a computer. And wherever he may be, Schaaf checks messages and committee schedules by tapping his personal digital assistant--a wireless hand-held computer.

In a building where thousands of pounds of documents are generated weekly during the legislative session and lawmakers lug oversized binders from meeting to meeting, Schaaf and his office are virtually paperless.

And that's exactly how Schaaf, a physician with a fondness for digital technology prefers it.

"My goal is to be a pioneer," said Schaaf, who also holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics. "My goal is to allow the people to see more deeply into the legislative process by making myself more available and trying to give them more opportunity to have input."

Schaaf, 46, created his virtual office with his own high-powered computer, his legislative assistant's video technology and some equipment provided by the state.

"My calendar is completely unmanageable without it," Schaaf said.

As a freshman lawmaker, Schaaf said, he has an advantage over colleagues because he can sift through information quickly on a computer and doesn't need to go mining in a mountain of paper.

"The thing is, there is too much work to do and not enough time to get it all done, so we had to figure out a way to be more efficient, and we are more efficient this way," Schaaf said. "And I think this brings me closer to people because they have greater access to me."

The Missouri Legislature has grappled for years with technology.

Members of the Missouri House have been allowed to use personal laptop computers in the chamber since 1997. But the tradition-conscious Senate has repeatedly rejected the idea--even though live debate in both...