Bills Move Forward Authorizing New IT Systems in State Government

Several bills that would expand or create technology systems in California state government cleared their house of origin this week in the state Legislature. They still must win approval from either the Assembly or Senate before moving to the governor's desk. Here are five pieces of legislation Techwire is following:

• AB 1755, the Open and Transparent Water Data Act from Assemblymember Bill Dodd, D-Napa, would require the Department of Water Resources and other entities to build a statewide water information system and present the data on a public website. Its proponents say such a system would help make the state's water transfer market more efficient. It passed the Assembly on a 75-to-4 vote on May 31.

• SB 877 on reporting and tracking of violent deaths from Sen. Richard Pan, D-Sacramento, would require the California Department of Public Health to establish and maintain the California Electronic Violent Death Reporting System (CalEVDRS), collect data on violent deaths, and participate in a similar national database. The legislation cleared the Senate on a 28-10 vote on June 1.

• SB 1212, from Sen. Ben Hueso, D-San Diego, on the state's 211 free telephone number for information and referrals, would enable to California to use existing telecom funding streams to expand 211 into rural counties where it's currently lacking because of inadequate money or geographic challenges. The California Public Utilities Commission says it could cost $1 million or more to create a needed database to facilitate the expansion. The Senate approved SB 1212 in a 35-to-3 vote on May 31.

• AB 2548, on a Statewide Accountability System for schools, from Assemblymember Shirley Weber, D-San Diego, would create a data and reporting system that provides information on school and school district performance displayed through an electronic platform. It would be available to parents and others, who could use the system to compare performance among districts. The current school data systems, CALPADs and DataQuest, don't present data in formats required under the bill. according to the Appropriations Committee. The Assembly approved the bill by a 75-to-1 vote on June 1.

• SB 1349, concerning the Secretary of State's online filing and disclosure system, from state Sen. Bob Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, would authorize an upgrade to California’s campaign and lobbying database. SB 1349 would transform the form-driven Cal-Access database into a more user-friendly and searchable machine-readable code. The Senate approved the legislation by a 34-to-0 vote on May 31.