Management

Connecticut Pushes Ahead on IT Modernization

A new law requires the state to develop a strategic plan to modernize government services and its network.

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Phil Goldstein is a former web editor of the CDW family of tech magazines and a veteran technology journalist. He lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife and their animals: a dog named Brenna and two cats, Grady and Princess.

After moving earlier this year to create a centralized state IT agency, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont recently signed legislation to move the state forward on technology modernization.

In mid-July, the governor signed Public Act 21-76,“An Act Concerning the Modernization of State Services and the Membership of the Commission for Educational Technology.”

The legislation focuses on modernizing procurement systems and enabling digital government service delivery and calls for the deployment of a “fully integrated statewide information services and telecommunication system that effectively and efficiently supports data processing and telecommunication requirements of all state agencies.”

When he signed the bill into law, Lamont noted in a statement that “streamlining and modernizing state government operations by cutting red tape and removing outdated bureaucratic practices” has been a top priority for his administration.

Lora Rae Anderson, a spokesperson for Lamont’s office, tells StateScoop the law means that members of the public will no longer need to provide paper-based signatures when transacting with state agencies.

Creating a Plan for Modern Digital Government

The new law calls for the state to create a strategic plan to cover numerous aspects of digital government.

The plan will include “guidelines and standards for the architecture for information and telecommunication systems that support state agencies,” including, but not limited to the following:

Standards for “digital identity verification” consistent with industry standards and best practices
Plans for a “cost-effective state-wide telecommunication network to support state agencies”
The identification of annual expenditures and major capital commitments for IT systems
The identification of all state agency technology projects
A description of how state agencies are to “use e-government solutions to deliver state services and conduct state programs,” as well as feedback agencies have received about online government service delivery
Potential opportunities for increasing the efficiency or reducing the costs of the state’s IT systems

“This legislation continues our march under Governor Lamont’s leadership to streamlining and eliminating outdated processes that have built barriers between government and business,” Josh Geballe, commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Administrative Services and the state’s COO, said in a statement. “These commonsense changes are just part of our broader efforts to modernize state government in ways that residents and businesses expect so they can spend their valuable time growing businesses, supporting their communities, and spending time with their families.”

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