BILL REQ. #:  S-4759.1 

READ FIRST TIME 02/09/10.   

     AN ACT Relating to information technology projects; amending RCW 43.88.560, 43.105.041, 43.105.180, and 43.105.160; and adding a new section to chapter 43.88 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 43.88 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The office of financial management's operating budget instructions to agencies must include collecting additional information for proposed information technology projects. Agencies must submit the following information about specific projects:
     (a) Estimated project implementation costs by staffing, contracted services, hardware purchase and maintenance, software license purchase and maintenance, hardware lease or finance, maintenance and operations, training, and travel;
     (b) Estimated project maintenance costs by staffing, contracted services, hardware purchase and maintenance, software license purchase and maintenance, hardware lease or finance, maintenance and operations, training, and travel;
     (c) All project expenditures in previous biennia;
     (d) Oversight level as determined by the information services board, if available;
     (e) Estimated project duration and start date;
     (f) Estimated ongoing operating savings or other benefits resulting from the project;
     (g) An explanation of the purpose and benefits of the project; and
     (h) An explanation of reengineering and streamlining of the underlying business process, if pursuing the development or purchase of new software. An explanation of efforts to gather business and technical requirements must also be provided.
     (2) The governor's budget must include an information technology plan which will include a list of all the proposed projects, their next biennium costs by funding source, projected costs over the two biennia succeeding the next biennium by funding source, and a statement of the purpose of the project. This information must also be submitted electronically, in a format to be determined by the office of financial management and the legislative evaluation and accountability program committee.
     (3) The office of financial management shall also institute a method of accounting for information technology-related expenditures, including creating common definitions for what constitutes an information technology investment. The director of financial management shall report total state expenditures on information technology by funding source and by object of expenditure to the chairs, ranking minority members, and staff coordinators of the appropriations committees of the senate and house of representatives for each biennium. The first report is due by January 15, 2013.

Sec. 2   RCW 43.88.560 and 1992 c 20 s 7 are each amended to read as follows:
     The director of financial management shall establish policies and standards governing the funding of major information technology projects as required under RCW 43.105.190(2). The director of financial management shall also direct the collection of additional information on information technology projects and submit an information technology plan as required under section 1 of this act.

Sec. 3   RCW 43.105.041 and 2009 c 486 s 13 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The board shall have the following powers and duties related to information services:
     (a) To develop standards and procedures governing the acquisition and disposition of equipment, proprietary software and purchased services, licensing of the radio spectrum by or on behalf of state agencies, and confidentiality of computerized data. The board shall coordinate with the office of financial management to develop contracting standards for information technology acquisition and purchased services and will work with state agencies to ensure deployment of standardized contracts;
     (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, except that the board, the department, and state agencies, as delegated, must post notices of technology procurement bids on the state's common vendor registration and bid notification system. This subsection (1)(b) does not apply to the legislative branch;
     (c) To develop statewide or interagency technical policies, standards, and procedures;
     (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 statewide or regional providers of K-12 information technology services, and to assure the cost-effective development and incremental implementation of a statewide 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;
     (i) To review and approve that portion of the department's budget requests that provides for support to the board; and
     (j) To develop procurement policies and procedures, such as unbundled contracting and subcontracting, that encourage and facilitate the purchase of products and services by state agencies and institutions from Washington small businesses to the maximum extent practicable and consistent with international trade agreement commitments.
     (2) Statewide 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, including wireless communications 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)(a) The board, in consultation with the K-20 board, has the duty to govern, operate, and oversee the technical design, implementation, and operation of the K-20 network including, but not limited to, the following duties: Establishment and implementation of K-20 network technical policy, including technical standards and conditions of use; review and approval of network design; procurement of shared network services and equipment; and resolving user/provider disputes concerning technical matters. The board shall delegate general operational and technical oversight to the K-20 network technical steering committee as appropriate.
     (b) The board has the authority to adopt rules under chapter 34.05 RCW to implement the provisions regarding the technical operations and conditions of use of the K-20 network.

Sec. 4   RCW 43.105.180 and 1999 c 80 s 11 are each amended to read as follows:
     ((Upon request of the office of financial management,)) The department, in coordination with the information services board and the office of financial management, shall evaluate agency budget requests for major information technology projects identified under RCW 43.105.190, including those proposed by the superintendent of public instruction, in conjunction with educational service districts, or statewide or regional providers of K-12 education information technology services. The department shall submit recommendations for funding all or part of such requests to the office of financial management and to the chairs, ranking minority members, and staff coordinators of the appropriations committees of the senate and house of representatives. The department shall also submit recommendations regarding consolidation of similar proposals or other efficiencies it finds in reviewing proposals.
     The department, with the advice and approval of the office of financial management and the information services board, shall establish criteria, consistent with portfolio-based information technology management, for the evaluation of agency budget requests under this section. These budget requests shall be made in the context of an agency's information technology portfolio; technology initiatives underlying budget requests are subject to board review. Criteria shall include, but not be limited to: Feasibility of the proposed projects, consistency with the state strategic information technology plan, consistency with information technology portfolios, appropriate provision for public electronic access to information, evidence of business process streamlining and gathering of business and technical requirements, and services, costs, and benefits.

Sec. 5   RCW 43.105.160 and 2005 c 319 s 110 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The department shall prepare a state strategic information technology plan which shall establish a statewide mission, goals, and objectives for the use of information technology, including goals for electronic access to government records, information, and services. The plan shall be developed in accordance with the standards and policies established by the board and shall be submitted to the board for review, modification as necessary, and approval. The department shall seek the advice of the board in the development of this plan.
     The plan approved under this section shall be updated as necessary and submitted to the governor and the chairs and ranking minority members of the appropriations committees of the senate and the house of representatives.
     (2) The department shall prepare a biennial state performance report on information technology based on agency performance reports required under RCW 43.105.170 and other information deemed appropriate by the department. The report shall include, but not be limited to:
     (a) An analysis, based upon agency portfolios, of the state's information technology infrastructure, including its value, condition, and capacity;
     (b) An evaluation of performance relating to information technology;
     (c) An assessment of progress made toward implementing the state strategic information technology plan, including progress toward electronic access to public information and enabling citizens to have two-way access to public records, information, and services;
     (d) An analysis of the success or failure, feasibility, progress, costs, and timeliness of implementation of major information technology projects under RCW 43.105.190((;
     (e))). At a minimum, the portion of the report regarding major technology projects must include:
     (i) Final budget broken down by staffing costs, contracted service, hardware purchase or lease, software purchase or lease, travel, and training. The original budget must also be shown for comparison;
     (ii) The original proposed project schedule and the final actual project schedule;
     (iii) Data regarding progress towards meeting the original goals and performance measures of the project, particularly as it relates to operating budget savings;
     (iv) Discussion of lessons learned on the project, performance of any contractors used, and reasons for project delays or cost increases; and
     (v) Identification of benefits, cost avoidance, and cost savings generated by major information technology projects developed under RCW 43.105.190; and
     (((f))) (e) An inventory of state information services, equipment, and proprietary software.
     Copies of the report shall be distributed biennially to the governor and the chairs and ranking minority members of the appropriations committees of the senate and the house of representatives. The major technology section of the report must examine major information technology projects completed in the previous biennium. The report must also examine projects two years after completion for progress toward meeting performance goals and operating budget savings. The first report is due December 15, 2011, and every two years thereafter.