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California Reassesses IT Initiatives
by Maureen Sirhal
Oversight of information-technology initiatives is undergoing a seismic shift in California after the state's IT agency was disbanded.
Gov. Gray Davis last week unveiled an executive order to create a temporary agency to oversee the state's information technology systems, as the former Department of Information Technology (DOIT) ceased operations on July 1, as expected.
Under the plan, the state's Finance Department will house a leaner Technology Oversight and Security Unit (TOSU), which primarily will be responsible for computer- and cyber-security issues. The order also authorizes state agencies to assume authority for their internal technology projects and procurement initiatives, said Kevin Terpstra, spokesman on information technology issues for the state.
The move comes in the wake of criticism levied at DOIT surrounding the overpayment of IT funds for database software licenses from software maker Oracle. State lawmakers already convened oversight hearings to dig into the matter, finding that DOIT authorized as much as $40 million in over-payments for software licenses. Critics suggest that the episode exemplifies how DOIT failed in its oversight mandate.
Formed in 1995, DOIT sought to provide planning guidance and manage oversight for California's IT projects. Legislation that created the department included a provision to sunset the department by July 1, 2002. "It is not a case of the sunset happening because some of the problems that the department as alleged to have had," Terpstra said.
J. Clark Kelso, the former interim director of DOIT and currently the director of TOSU, said there was a need to get an executive order out promptly to inform departments and agencies about their new roles and responsibilities in the absence of DOIT.
California Agencies Learn To 'Just DOIT'
As agencies begin reclaiming IT projects, Kelso said the executive order offers specific guidelines to ensure that the state agencies engage in rigorous management oversight of IT projects. "We're making sure that the heads of agencies are given a first-hand briefing by [their] CIOs and the security officers about IT projects and IT security, he said. "We are going to make sure we have raised the visibility of these issues in every department."
Kelso said that procurement procedures under the new system likely would not change. "DOIT itself is not involved in procurement," he said.
Davis also authorized the transition of management authority for the state's Web portal to state employees at the General Services Department. Deloitte Consulting had created and managed the site.
California will continue long-term planning efforts to replace DOIT with a different structure, Kelso said, but those efforts are not likely to surface for at least 12 to 18 months.
"I think we need to get away from having a single state CIO upon whose head all the leadership [for technology issues] rests." Kelso suggested the "establishment of a more broadly representative board that will provide the policy making leadership and guidance for IT development in California."
Michigan's Sex-Offender Solution
In response to a recent federal court decision that struck down Michigan's online sex offender registry as unconstitutional, Lt. Governor Dick Posthumus last week unveiled two Web sites aimed at providing public information as to whether sex offenders may be living nearby.
With the new Offender Tracking Information System (OTIS), operated by the Michigan Department of Corrections, residents can input information about sex offenders using a name or even a physical characteristic. The online database offers information on a variety of the more than 263,000 offenders that are, or at one time were, under the supervision of the Corrections Department.
The Michigan State Police operates a second site, called the Internet Criminal History Access Tool (ICHAT). The site enables users to surf a database of Michigan's criminal-conviction records, which are submitted by police, courts and other criminal justice agencies. For $10, individuals can scan more than 1.4 million records using the name and birth date of the offender.
"The short-sighted and dangerous decision by the court to shut down Michigan's Sex Offender Registry early last month took away a valuable tool from Michigan parents, and we have received many, many calls from parents asking what they can do now to protect their kids," Posthumus said in a statement.
On June 3, U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts ordered the removal of the state's online Sex Offender Registry, after finding that the system violated "due process" rights because it provided a list of sex offenders with no means to prove why they should be removed from the registry.
Since the removal of the sex offender registry, state officials have reported increased activity on the new ICHAT sites.
"While we don't claim that these two Web sites are the complete tool that the registry was, combined, they do give parents and grandparents around Michigan access to public information about potentially dangerous convicted criminals," Posthumus said. "I call on the court to reverse Judge Roberts' decision and put the Sex Offender Registry back online."
Answering The Homeland Security Call
An overwhelming majority of state governors have taken the lead in homeland security, authorizing the creation of new entities to coordinate homeland-defense plans, according to a report issued by the National Emergency Management Association.
In a survey of state emergency coordinators and management authorities released last month, NEMA sought to reveal how emergency-management systems within states had altered post Sept. 11. The report detailed progress that states have made in responding to new mandates for homeland defense.
Since Sept. 11, 84 percent of states responded to new security threats on governors' orders. Thirty-seven percent of states created new positions, offices or agencies to address homeland security, while 75 percent of states created new "terrorism task forces" or working groups to address the security issues. Fifty-five percent of those groups were created by verbal order of the state's governor.
Many states opted to create state offices for homeland security as a point of contact for the federal government. But the location or structure these offices varied widely among states. Nearly 20 percent of states placed such offices under the auspices of emergency-management entities, while 24 percent of states made the governor's office the headquarters for homeland security. Eighteen percent are housed under state public safety departments and the remaining 14 percent fall to the state law enforcement agencies.
Mississippi Offers E-License Services
Mississippi added a new feature to its online service offerings. State residents now can renew their drivers' licenses online at the Mississippi Department of Public Safety Web site. Officials say the new services will reduce time and costs to processing license applications. Will Spann, director of the Criminal Information Center, said in a statement this week that the new service will feature rigorous online security measures. Mississippi is one of nine states currently offering license renewal services online. In light of concerns over driver's license-issuing procedures, Mississippi's new driver's license cards, due out in January, have a two-dimensional bar code and magnetic stripe.
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