E-Commerce Council

Gov. Pete Wilson’s online shopping skills were a little wimpy during a demonstration at the first meeting of the newly formed Electronic Commerce Advisory Council last week.

Wilson looked on passively as executives from Excite Inc. and eToys Inc. helped him order a Touch n Crawl Mickey doll over the Internet as a gift for a staff member’s baby.

But to the 19 members of the council, Wilson’s prowess with a keyboard and credit card doesn’t matter as long as he can help clear the way for electronic commerce to flourish in California.

The council, created by Wilson earlier this year and charged with making recommendations for ways the state can foster the online economy, held its first meeting Thursday at Excite’s headquarters in Redwood City, south of San Francisco.

Members of the council are prominent players in the high-tech industry, including Netscape Communications Corp. attorney Roberta Katz, Stanford economist Michael Boskin and Yahoo Inc. Chief Executive Tim Koogle.

Council members came with ready examples of local, state and federal laws that hinder their enterprises, including some statutes that seem comically out of date.

Jerry Kaplan, chief executive of Onsale.com, a leading auction site on the Net, said his company can’t possibly abide by dozens of obscure statutes he’s encountered across the country, including one that forbids auctions after 10 p.m.

The council is expected to produce a report by midsummer. But in a nod to members’ preferences, nearly all remaining meetings will be conducted via the Net.

The council’s Web site is https://www.e-commerce.ca.gov.