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Assembly Bill Would Strengthen Electronic Reporting

A bill being considered by a state Legislature committee would, if passed, mandate more electronic filing of government reports to the state and would involve the California Department of Technology in making some of the material available.

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State and local agencies’ efforts to get off paper could soon get a push from the state Legislature.

Assembly Bill 802, introduced by Assemblyman Mark Stone, D-Monterey Bay, would update the process by which state and local agencies file reports to state agencies, making it much more electronic, and give the California Department of Technology (CDT) a major role in the initiative. Specifically, the bill would require state and local agencies to “submit all reports to the Secretary of the Senate, the Chief Clerk of the Assembly, and the Legislative Counsel electronically,” and do away with the mandate that state agencies separately submit report summaries directly to legislators. The shift to electronic submission would also apply to reports required or requested by law, to be submitted by state or local government to a legislative committee. Among the takeaways:

• If the bill passes, CDT would be required “to establish and maintain a statewide open data portal” — where it would be required to post data sets used to generate state agency reports that involve data collection or analysis. In an email to Techwire provided by Stone’s office, Landon Klein, who staffs AB 802, said CDT “has done a phenomenal job as the steward” of the statewide open data portal, prompting its selection here.

“Rather than risk disrupting existing processes for maintaining this portal by putting a new agency in charge, we felt that those already doing a great job in this capacity should be permitted to keep up the good work once the resource is codified in California law,” Klein said.

CDT, however, might make use of the existing portal rather than stand up a new, separate portal. An analysis last month by the state Senate Committee on Governmental Organization pointed out that the statewide open data portal “was designed specifically to host open data from more than one agency.”

“This bill establishes the portal in statute, and specifies that CDT may use data.ca.gov to satisfy the requirements of the bill,” the analysis said. CDT spokesman Bob Andosca said via email that the agency does not comment on pending legislation.

• The value associated with getting reporting off paper could be large and grow over time, Klein said, noting that open data “is definitely having a moment” as members of the public realize the amount of information available to be mined, and as “government transparency becomes more prominent in public discourse.”

The bill’s real worth, Klein said, is in the “public benefits of open access to the massive repository of government data collected in the process of producing these reports.” He said it should also provide a “simple solution” to an outdated, confusing system that currently allows both electronic and print submissions — and cut cost associated with digitizing print reports.

• The bill “would impose a state-mandated local program” by giving local agencies new tasks, according to its summary – but associated costs would most likely be covered. If the state Commission on State Mandates finds that the bill has state-imposed costs, the state Constitution would require that local agencies and school districts be reimbursed “for certain costs.”

Those costs could be low. An analysis in April by the Assembly Appropriations Committee found “minor and absorbable costs to affected state agencies” and “minor state-mandated local costs to affected local agencies, potentially reimbursable by the state.” The committee said it was “unlikely any agency would submit a claim to the Commission on State Mandates.”

• AB 802, which is before the state Senate Committee on Appropriations, has passed each committee to hear it so far with zero votes against, and three analyses by the Legislature recorded no opposition. The Legislature’s last day to pass bills is Sept. 13, in about six weeks.

Theo Douglas is Assistant Managing Editor of Industry Insider — California.