Relates to information technology used by public authorities

Title of bill

An act to amend the public authorities law and the state technology law, in relation to an inventory, study and report by the office for technology on the use of information technology by public authorities and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon the expiration thereof

Purpose or general idea of bill

To create an annual comprehensive technology inventory of existing information technology infrastructure used by public authorities and their subsidiaries and affiliates, so that information technology expenditures and use by public authorities shall be transparent and accountable.

Summary of specific provisions

Section 1. Creates a new requirement that all public authorities shall submit an annual technology plan to the office for technology.

Section 2. Amends the state technology law to provide for the creation of an annual comprehensive inventory by public authorities of their existing information technology infrastructure used by such authorities and their subsidiaries and affiliates, to the extent such information is available. The office for technology shall collect such inventories on or before June 1, 2010, and annually thereafter until June 1, 2012, and shall report upon such plans and technology use to the governor, the temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly on or before December 1, 2010, and annually therefore until December 1, 2012. Such report shall be drafted in conjunction with the division of the budget and the state procurement council, and shall review such technology use by such authorities, and shall make recommendations for improving management of such technology, consistency with the State's technology plan, and shall also make recommendations concerning safeguarding privacy and confidentiality of records, and open records and transparency issues.

Justification

It is conjectured that the State of New York's public authorities and public benefit corporations, and their subsidiaries and affiliates, spend somewhere between $500,000,000 and $2,000,000,000 on information technology annually. However, there is no central source from which the legislature, the Governor and executive agencies, good government groups, information technology professionals and stakeholder groups can determine with specificity the exact amount spent annually by said public authorities and public benefit corporations. Nor, for that matter, is there a central source of data from which one can determine whether public authorities and public benefit corporations are purchasing information technology that provides the best value for the public.

The study created by this bill will bring long needed transparency and accountability into the area of public authority purchasing and use of information technology. It is hoped that the information resulting from the study will aid oversight of the authorities, and will provide a basis from which the State can drive down the cost and increase the benefits of the information technology infrastructure it purchases.

Prior legislative history

None.

Fiscal implications

Minimal.

Effective date

This act shall take effect immediately.