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Key Tech, IT Bills Await Lawmakers' Action

Lawmakers returning Monday from their summer recess face a two-week deadline to move bills out of fiscal committees. Before the Senate and Assembly Appropriations committees are bills that seek to hold IT contractors accountable, secure state websites and sensitive information, and create a statewide framework for small cell technology.

Lawmakers returning today from their summer recess face a two-week deadline to move bills out of fiscal committees, the place where measures with a price tag often run into trouble.

Before the Senate and Assembly Appropriations committees are bills that seek to hold IT contractors accountable, secure state websites and sensitive information, and create a statewide framework for small cell technology.

Here is a look at some of the key technology-related bills that need to clear appropriations committees by Sept. 1 to move to a vote on the Assembly or Senate floor.

California Department of Technology

  • AB 1546 would require the California Department of Technology to develop a system to evaluate the performance of state contractors — something the state has been working on for the last few years. The measure by Assemblywoman Autumn Burke, D-Inglewood, would require the department to finish that system by Jan. 1, 2019. The department is vetting a scorecard system with contractors and plans to release it sometime this fiscal year. The bill was scheduled for a hearing today before the Senate Appropriations Committee.
  • AB 1680 by Burke would require the director of Technology to establish and oversee a training program and curriculum for state workers engaged in IT procurement. Running the program could cost $450,000 a year, according to an Assembly Appropriations staff analysis. The Senate Appropriations Committee was scheduled to hear the bill today.
  • Legislation by Assemblywoman Catharine Baker, R-Dublin, would require California to establish a state Web accessibility standard — something that could cost agencies millions of dollars to comply with. AB 434 would require the Department of Technology to consult with the Department of Rehabilitation and develop a standard by Dec. 31, 2018. State entities would be required to submit a report about their website accessibility at least every two years. The Senate Appropriations Committee is scheduled to hear the bill Aug. 28.
General Policy

  • With an eye on deploying the most advanced communication technologies, one state senator is pushing legislation that would establish a statewide framework for small cell technology. SB 649 before the Assembly Appropriations Committee would streamline the permitting and siting of small cells, which can be attached to utility poles, buildings and public infrastructure. Bill author Sen. Ben Hueso, D-San Diego, has sought to negotiate with city officials, who largely oppose the bill, to ensure they can decide how and where small cells are placed. The bill is scheduled for a Wednesday hearing before the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
  • A bill before the Senate Appropriations Committee would direct the Government Operations Agency to create a government innovation fellows pilot program, a bid to bring volunteers who have advanced skill sets into state agencies. The program could cost the state up to $300,000 to run the program, as well as tens of thousands of dollars to agencies to house state fellows. Lawmakers put AB 86 by Assemblyman Ian Calderon, D-Whittier, on the committee suspense file last month because of the price tag.
Cybersecurity

  • A statewide review of the information security technologies currently in place at state agencies could cost at least $1.3 million, according to an analysis by the Senate Appropriations Committee. The directive is included in legislation authored by Assemblywoman Jacqui Irwin, D-Thousand Oaks, who says she wants to protect the massive amounts of sensitive digital data stored by the state. AB 531 directs the Department of Technology’s Office of Information Security to conduct the review by Jan. 1, 2019. Senators put the measure on the suspense file last month.
  • A second, less costly bill by Irwin would require state agencies to provide the Department of Technology with a confidential inventory of their critical infrastructure controls and assets. An analysis by the Assembly Appropriations Committee, which approved the bill earlier this year, estimated the increased workload would come with a $620,000 price tag. AB 1022 would also authorize local entities to voluntarily submit their inventories to the department, in an effort to provide the state a more comprehensive picture in combating cyberattacks. The bill was scheduled for a hearing today before the Senate Appropriations Committee.
  • California’s cybersecurity center runs on federal funds, but it could cost the state $1.8 million a year to operate should those federal funds not flow in the future. That’s the cost estimate provided by the Assembly Appropriations Committee. Lawmakers in the Senate Appropriations Committee were scheduled today to vet legislation that would codify the center into law. AB-1306 by Jay Obernolte, R-Big Bear, would set in statute the existence of the California Cybersecurity Integration Center (Cal-CSIC) at the Office of Emergency Services, which Brown created in a 2015 executive order.
Transparency

  • A Republican lawmaker is asking the Senate Appropriations Committee to reconsider legislation that would require the California Environmental Protection Agency to live stream all of its onsite public meetings. Lawmakers two years ago rejected a similar bill, which comes with a hefty price tag. A staff analysis by the Assembly Appropriations Committee estimates it would cost $1.9 million in one-time costs to provide the webcasting, as well as another $2 million in operating costs. AB 816 by Kevin Kiley, R-Roseville, would require webcasts where listeners and viewers could ask questions and the public could provide comment.
Databases

  • Legislation before the Senate Appropriations Committee would assign the state Department of Justice to issue regulations to govern the use, operation and oversight of any shared gang database. AB 90 would require the department to administer and oversee the shared gang database. That responsibility could cost at least $1 million, according to a staff analysis by the Assembly Appropriations Committee. The bill by Shirley Weber, D-San Diego, was scheduled for a hearing today.
  • AB 684 would require the California Coastal Commission to develop, implement and maintain a publicly searchable database of ex parte communications. Building that online database could cost about half a million dollars, according to an Assembly Appropriations Committee analysis of the bill. The measure by Assemblyman Mark Stone, D-Monterey Bay, would require the database by July 1, 2018. The database is intended to record communications that are often disclosed orally at commission meetings with few details. Stone’s bill was scheduled for today before the Senate Appropriations Committee.
  • Updating instruction materials and curriculum frameworks to include media literacy could cost the state about $788,000. The price tag is why the Assembly Appropriations Committee last month put the bill, SB 135, on its suspense file. The bill by Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, is an attempt to improve students’ access to technology. It would require the state Board of Education to develop a model curriculum by March 2019.