BILL REQ. #:  S-4543.1 

Read first time 02/04/10.   Referred to Committee on Ways & Means.

     AN ACT Relating to information technology projects; amending RCW 43.88.560, 43.105.041, 43.105.180, and 43.105.190; 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.
     (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 43.105.190 and 2005 c 319 s 111 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 statewide 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 statewide significance of the project; and
     (b) Establish a model process and procedures which agencies shall follow in developing and implementing projects within their information technology portfolios. 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.
     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 consistent with portfolio-based information technology management to govern 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
     (c) Other elements deemed necessary by the office of financial management.
     (3) The department shall evaluate projects based on the demonstrated business needs and benefits; cost; technology scope and feasibility; impact on the agency's information technology portfolio and on the statewide infrastructure; and 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 committees of the senate and house of representatives.
     If there are projects that receive funding from a transportation fund or account, copies of those projects' evaluations conducted under this subsection must be submitted to the chairs and ranking minority members of the transportation committees of the senate and the house of representatives.
     (4) The department shall submit a major projects report to the office of financial management and the chairs, ranking minority members, and staff coordinators of the appropriations committees of the senate and house of representatives. The report must contain the following information for major information technology projects, as identified in this section:
     (a) 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.
     (b) The original proposed project schedule and the final actual project schedule.
     (c) Data regarding progress towards meeting the original goals and performance measures of the project, particularly as it relates to operating budget savings.
     (d) Discussion of lessons learned on the project, performance of any contractors used, and reasons for project delays or cost increases.
     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.