Improved technology, coupled with rising gas and fuel costs, are leading state governments to permitting something they’ve traditionally not embraced: telecommuting.

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson announced this week that all departments had to have a telecommuting and alternative work scheduling plan in place by September 1 – lightning-fast by government standards – and the economic development department has already announced it will be going to a four-day, ten-hour-per-day schedule starting August 1.

According to the Associated Press, the Florida attorney general's office and the Kentucky secretary of state's office allow a compressed four-day work week for their employees.

In addition, Utah announced earlier this year a similar policy, which is scheduled to take effect next August.

Similarly, Idaho Governor Butch Otter announced a telecommuting policy earlier this year, though he stopped short of mandating it. And Connecticut is trying to increase telecommuting at its state capitol in Hartford – an effort that, ironically, Republicans are supporting and Democrats are resisting. Mississippi is also considering it.

Other state, city, or county governments in Alabama, California, Michigan, South Carolina, and Virginia also offer it, while Vermont, Arkansas, and Oklahoma are considering it.

Some state governments are considering shutting down completely on Friday (except for emergency services, of course), while others will run a staggered schedule. For those governments shutting down on Friday – which technically makes state services available less often -- in reality they could end up being more available, first because they will be available during non-business hours during the other four days of the week, and second due to technology such as providing government services online, the various state governments said.

What’s bringing about the new support for telecommuting in state government? Fuel costs – both for employees commuting to work and for heating the buildings. Obviously, an office that’s open one fewer day per week could save up to 20 percent of its heating costs.

The federal government is looking at telecommuting as well, with 110,000 federal employees telecommuting at least one day a month.