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California Releases Statewide Five-Year IT Capital Plan

The California Office of the State Chief Information Officer publishes list of 122 projects included in IT Capital Plan.

The new California five-year IT capital plan includes 122 proposed and approved projects -- everything from a sex offender address match system to enterprise GIS and positional awareness for Cal Fire aircraft and vehicles.

The plan, which sought input from 85 state entities, dovetails with an IT strategic plan the California Office of the State Chief Information Officer (OCIO) released last month. According to the IT capital plan (ITCP), 70 percent of the proposed projects could potentially include multiagency collaboration. Opportunities for collaboration exist in GIS, business intelligence, transaction processing, enterprise content management, customer relationship management and case management, the capital plan says.

Among the proposed projects are:

  • a new vehicle emissions inspections system to replace obsolete equipment used in smog inspection stations;
  • the Franchise Tax Board generating an "enhanced debtor file" in order to identify delinquent debtors;
  • a "pavement rehabilitation" system for CalTrans that would rely upon scheduling and traffic analysis;
  • a new records management system for the California Highway Patrol;
  • a phone system upgrade for the California DMV and an identity verification system in order to comply with the Real ID Act;
  • electronic pay card technology and a Web-based enrollment system for beneficiaries of the Health and Human Services Agency;
  • an automated victim information and notification program that would allow victims to track victims' hearings and release dates; and
  • an IT project management portfolio tool offered by the state Controller's Office.
OCIO Deputy Director Adrian Farley said Monday it's important to understand that the capital plan is only conceptual at this point in time. The OCIO will be working with state agencies and departments to fund projects that have a positive or no near-term impact on the General Fund, or prevent lost revenue, such as updating tax systems.

One example of this, Farley said, is a proposed "enterprise data to revenue" project that would cost $400 million but increase tax revenue up to $900 million annually.

It's unlikely that all 122 proposed projects will be built, he said.

"In this first ITCP cycle, the agency and departmental ITCPs provide a view of all projects being proposed over the next five years, along with summary information concerning upgrade and/or replacement of hardware, software and network infrastructure," according to the report. "In future years, the departmental ITCPs will be expanded to include additional information about IT infrastructure investments."

Projects included in the capital plan were chosen for their business value and their alignment with the six strategic concepts included in the state's IT strategic plan: IT as reliable as electricity; fulfilling technology's potential to transform lives; self-governance in the digital age; information as an asset; economic and sustainable; and facilitating collaboration.

The state's ability to build out these projects could be predicated on how the state recovers from a $40 billion budget deficit. California reportedly stopped paying some bills Monday and won't issue tax rebates until lawmakers agree to a budget plan. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared a fiscal emergency.

State CIO Teri Takai and Schwarzenegger have proposed a statewide consolidation of IT services that includes expanding OCIO to absorb and oversee the state Department of Technology Services, the information security office and Department of General Services' telecom division. The consolidation would save taxpayers at least $2 billion, Schwarzenegger said.

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