BP BHEAD INT S [atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to the department of information services; amending RCW 43.105.032 and 43.105.190; reenacting and amending RCW 43.105.041; and adding a new section to chapter 43.105 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1. RCW 43.105.032 and 1996 c 137 s 10 are each amended to read as follows:

((~~There is hereby created~~)) The Washington state information services board((~~. The board shall be~~)) is created and composed of ((~~thirteen~~)) fifteen members. Eight members shall be appointed by the governor, one of whom shall be a representative of higher education, one of whom shall be a representative of an agency under a state-wide elected official other than the governor, and ((~~two~~)) at least four of whom shall be representatives of the private sector. One member shall represent the judicial branch and be appointed by the chief justice of the supreme court. One member shall be the superintendent of public instruction or shall be appointed by the superintendent of public instruction. ((One member shall represent the house of representatives and shall be selected by the speaker of the house of representatives; one member shall represent the senate and shall be appointed by the president of the senate. The representatives of the house of representatives and senate shall not be from the same political party.)) Four members, one from each of the two largest caucuses of the house of representatives and of the senate, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate, respectively, shall represent the legislature. One member shall be the director who shall be a voting member of the board. These members shall constitute the membership of the board with full voting rights. Members of the board shall serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority. The board shall select a chairperson from among its members.

Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner that the original appointments were made.

A majority of the members of the board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

Members of the board shall be compensated for service on the board in accordance with RCW 43.03.240 and shall be reimbursed for travel expenses as provided in RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060.

The board may not hold special meetings as authorized under RCW 42.30.080. The board may hold a meeting only if notice of the meeting is given to members of the board, and public notice of the meeting is given at least five days prior to the meeting.

Sec. 2. RCW 43.105.190 and 1996 c 137 s 15 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The department, with the approval of the board, shall establish standards and policies governing the planning, implementation, and evaluation of major information technology projects, including those proposed by the superintendent of public instruction, in conjunction with educational service districts, or state-wide or regional providers of K-12 education information technology services. The standards and policies shall:

(a) Establish criteria to identify projects which are subject to this section. Such criteria shall include, but not be limited to, significant anticipated cost, complexity, or state-wide significance of the project; and

(b) Establish a model process and procedures which agencies shall follow in developing and implementing project plans. Agencies may propose, for approval by the department, a process and procedures unique to the agency. The department may accept or require modification of such agency proposals or the department may reject such agency proposals and require use of the model process and procedures established under this subsection. Any process and procedures developed under this subsection shall require (i) distinct and identifiable phases upon which funding may be based, (ii) user validation of products through system demonstrations and testing of prototypes and deliverables, and (iii) other elements identified by the board.

Project plans and any agreements established under such plans shall be approved and mutually agreed upon by the director, the director of financial management, and the head of the agency proposing the project.

The director may terminate a major project if the director determines that the project is not meeting or is not expected to meet anticipated performance standards.

(2) The office of financial management shall establish policies and standards governing the funding of projects developed under this section. The policies and standards shall provide for:

(a) Funding of a project under terms and conditions mutually agreed to by the director, the director of financial management, and the head of the agency proposing the project. However, the office of financial management may require incremental funding of a project on a phase-by-phase basis whereby funds for a given phase of a project may be released only when the office of financial management determines, with the advice of the department, that the previous phase is satisfactorily completed;

(b) Acceptance testing of products to assure that products perform satisfactorily before they are accepted and final payment is made; and

(3) The department shall evaluate projects at three stages of development as follows: (a) Initial needs assessment; (b) feasibility study including definition of scope, development of tasks and timelines, and estimated costs and benefits; and (c) final project implementation plan based upon available funding.

Copies of project evaluations conducted under this subsection shall be submitted to the office of financial management ((~~and~~)), the chairs, ranking minority members, and staff coordinators of the ((~~appropriations~~)) fiscal committees of the senate and house of representatives, and the policy committees of the senate and house of representatives with responsibilities for issues relating to the agency that undertakes the project.

(4) The director may terminate major information technology projects. However, before a project is terminated, the director must provide reasons in writing for the termination to a person in the governor's office and to the chairs of the committees of the house of representatives and senate with oversight over the agency subject to the review and a copy of each notice, signed by the party to whom the notice is addressed, must be filed with the official minutes of the board. A signature on the notice shall only indicate the fact that the person has received notice of the termination and shall not necessarily signify agreement with the decision to terminate the project.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 43.105 RCW to read as follows:

The board shall coordinate efforts by agencies to implement modifications to state information technology necessitated by the year 2000.

Sec. 4. RCW 43.105.041 and 1996 c 171 s 8 and 1996 c 137 s 12 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:

(1) The board shall have the following powers and duties related to information services:

(a) To develop standards governing the acquisition and disposition of equipment, proprietary software and purchased services, and confidentiality of computerized data;

(b) To purchase, lease, rent, or otherwise acquire, dispose of, and maintain equipment, proprietary software, and purchased services, or to delegate to other agencies and institutions of state government, under appropriate standards, the authority to purchase, lease, rent, or otherwise acquire, dispose of, and maintain equipment, proprietary software, and purchased services: PROVIDED, That, agencies and institutions of state government are expressly prohibited from acquiring or disposing of equipment, proprietary software, and purchased services without such delegation of authority. The acquisition and disposition of equipment, proprietary software, and purchased services is exempt from RCW 43.19.1919 and, as provided in RCW 43.19.1901, from the provisions of RCW 43.19.190 through 43.19.200. This subsection (1)(b) does not apply to the legislative branch;

(d) To review and approve standards and common specifications for new or expanded telecommunications networks proposed by agencies, public postsecondary education institutions, educational service districts, or state-wide or regional providers of K-12 information technology services, and to assure the cost-effective development and incremental implementation of a state-wide video telecommunications system to serve: Public schools; educational service districts; vocational-technical institutes; community colleges; colleges and universities; state and local government; and the general public through public affairs programming;

(e) To provide direction concerning strategic planning goals and objectives for the state. The board shall seek input from the legislature and the judiciary;

(f) To develop and implement a process for the resolution of appeals by:

(i) Vendors concerning the conduct of an acquisition process by an agency or the department; or

(ii) A customer agency concerning the provision of services by the department or by other state agency providers;

(g) To establish policies for the periodic review by the department of agency performance which may include but are not limited to analysis of:

(i) Planning, management, control, and use of information services;

(ii) Training and education; and

(iii) Project management;

(h) To set its meeting schedules and convene at scheduled times, or meet at the request of a majority of its members, the chair, or the director; and

(i) To review and approve that portion of the department's budget requests that provides for support to the board.

(2) State-wide technical standards to promote and facilitate electronic information sharing and access are an essential component of acceptable and reliable public access service and complement content-related standards designed to meet those goals. The board shall:

(a) Establish technical standards to facilitate electronic access to government information and interoperability of information systems. Local governments are strongly encouraged to follow the standards established by the board; and

(b) Require agencies to consider electronic public access needs when planning new information systems or major upgrades of systems.

In developing these standards, the board is encouraged to include the state library, state archives, and appropriate representatives of state and local government.

(3) At least twice a year a report on the status of information technology projects and initiatives in state government shall be sent to the fiscal committees of the house of representatives and senate with responsibilities for funding the review. A copy of any report shall be forwarded to each policy committee of the house of representatives and senate that oversees the responsibilities of the agency reviewed in the report.