H97 - 2015 Appropriations Act, Part VII-A: Establish Department of Information Technology (SL 2015-241)

Overview: Part VII-A of S.L. 2015-241 establishes the Department of Information Technology (DIT) and does all of the following:

Consolidates information technology functions from principal departments and participating agencies and places those functions within the new cabinet-level DIT and names the State Information Officer (appointed by the Governor) as the head of the Department.

• The DIT is comprised of: the Office of the State CIO and the Office of Information Technology Services (a Type I transfer); and the 911 Board, Criminal Justice Information Network, Government Data Analytics Center, and North Carolina Geographic Information Coordinating Council, and the Center for Geographic Information and Analysis (a Type II transfer).

As amended by Secs. 2.2, 2.8, 2.11, 2.12, 2.13, 2.14, 2.16, and 2.20 of S.L. 2015-268, this Part does the following:

• Establishes powers and duties of DIT and State CIO.
• Directs the State CIO to develop policies for information technology planning and financing for State Agencies, including a biennial State Information Technology Plan, and strategic and business-continuity plans at the agency level.
• Consolidates human resources for all State information technology personnel within DIT and directs the State CIO to establish a plan to address agency requirements with individual career planning and personnel allocation.
• Creates an Information Technology Fund and Internal Service Fund; requires quarterly reporting to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Information Technology and Fiscal Research on the funds, expenditures, and personnel changes.
• Creates a project management process for participating agency information technology projects, including a dispute resolution process through the Office of the Governor.
• Directs the State CIO to establish an information technology procurement process to centralize procurement across all participating agencies.
• Directs the State CIO to create an inventory of data center operations throughout the Executive Branch.
• Directs the State CIO to develop standards and planning for a consolidated and standardized State communications network.
• Directs the State CIO to establish standards for management and safekeeping of all data held by State agencies and their vendors; subjects all State agencies to State CIO approval of and compliance with security measures established by DIT.

This Part also: (i) instructs the Revisor of Statutes to recodify portions of the General Statutes pertaining to programs and entities transferred to the newly created DIT; (ii) makes conforming statutory changes to reflect the repeal of the former Office of Information Technology Services and the transfer of authority to DIT and the State CIO; and (iii) clarifies that existing business or legal matters undertaken or ongoing at the time of the creation of DIT retain their validity and enforceability.

This Part became effective September 18, 2015.