"After the person has the kids down, the dishes are done and there's that quiet moment that you need to get things done you wish you could've done earlier in the day, people are registering their car, renewing their driver's license, they're going online to be able to register their business — to do all the things that are one-stop that they normally had to do during the day, they're doing sometimes in the middle of the night," he said.

State government, through the site, is open all the time, he said. "This (award) is not just a welcome encouragement. It's a reminder that we're achieving that goal," he said.

And the state isn't finished. Leavitt said it will continue to offer more services. He noted that Wednesday was Day 598 of his 1,000-day post-Olympics plan. "We still have 402 days to get the rest of those services online, Val," he told Oveson.

The site is tallying about 3 million unique visits each month, and other stats show Utahns are using it to their advantage. More than 50 percent of Primary Care Network registrations are being made online, as are more than 20 percent of driver's license registrations, more than 65 percent of job service referrals, more than one-third of the state tax returns and one-third of the business license renewals and registrations.

McKenna praised Leavitt as a governor who "gets it" when it comes to technology. "There are few leaders in government that understand and grasp the power of digital technology and its promise for creating government in the 21st century as does Gov. Leavitt," he said.

The news conference followed Leavitt's confirmation hearings on Tuesday before a Senate committee regarding his nomination to lead the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

"I'm just very pleased to be home receiving an award," he said to laughter from the audience after being asked about his experience Tuesday. "Somehow today feels easier than yesterday."

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E-mail: bwallace@desnews.com