Approved:       January 25, 2007        

Date

MINUTES OF THE HOUSE GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY AND TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE

The meeting was called to order by Chairman Jim Morrison at 3:30 P.M. on January 23, 2007, in Room 526-S of the Capitol.

All members were present except Representatives Frownfelter, King, Tafanelli, Wilk, and Sloan, all of whom were excused.

Committee staff present:

Mary Galligan, Kansas Legislative Research

Tatiana Lin, Kansas Legislative Research

Renae Jefferies, Office of Revisor of Statutes

Gary Deeter, Committee Assistant

Conferees appearing before the committee:

Brad Williams, Chief Information Officer and IT Security Officer, Kansas Board of Regents

Others attending:

See attached list.

Members discussed a theoretical organizational chart for the three branches of government; a member observed that presently no authority exists to coordinate the three branches. Regarding the Kansas Board of Regents, a member said Information Technology (IT) oversight is provided by the Information Technology Executive Council (ITEC) and the Kansas Information Technology Office (KITO), the latter a bureau of DISC (Division of Information Systems and Communications). Another member stated that, with approximately 40,000 state employees and multiple agencies, competition for resources makes the committee’s job daunting.

Discussion focused on uniting all Regents IT functions in one computer center. Brad Williams, Chief Information Officer and IT Security Officer, Kansas Board of Regents, a member of the audience, was asked to enter the discussion. He said there are distinct and separate functions for Regents IT systems–administrative, research, and student–which make integration challenging. He noted that the University of Kansas has three individual networks, with separate wiring, routers, and servers, and even when the networks share resources, they are managed differently to serve different roles. Some members acknowledged the need for different functions; one member was concerned that smaller institutions are more vulnerable to security breaches and would be more effective with focused IT coordination among the institutions. Mr. Williams said the Committee’s meeting on Monday, January 29, should allay some concerns when the Chief Information Officers of each institution relate collaborative endeavors; he noted that the CIOs meet on a monthly basis to develop cooperative activities. Regarding security, he said all Regents security information is coordinated through the state’s Chief Security Officer, Larry Kettlewell, and Denise Moore, Director of DISC.

Mr. Williams referenced the recently completed needs assessment and feasibility study for a new statewide Financial Management System (FMS), commenting that if Regents institutions were to move toward integration of IT, a similar study would be required. He noted that vendor Calence would be completing a similar study for KAN-ED by March 2007, a study that will recommend bridges with KANWIN and KANREN.

Responding to further questions, Mr. Williams said all proposed projects initiated by any agency and the Regents must be reviewed by the Kansas Chief Information Architect to evaluate security and architectural criteria established by ITEC, then must be approved by the Executive CITO. He replied that the IT road map is built by examining Kansas business processes and by developing architecture based on national standards, then building the system. A member commented that the Internet is purposely decentralized, and likewise Regents IT, after meeting certain standards, could keep its systems distributed but centralize IT administration.

By proper motion, second, and committee vote the minutes for January 16 and 18 were approved. The meeting was adjourned at 4:35 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, January 24, 2007.