Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed 2020-2021 Fiscal Year state budget, which he introduced Friday, will build on several key IT projects and initiatives begun during his administration’s first year.
“We lead the nation in startups. We have innovation running through our brains and our veins,” Newsom said in introducing the $222.2 billion proposed budget, which is 2.3 percent larger than last year’s budget. The general fund is $153.1 billion, a 2.2 percent increase from the 2019-2020 budget.
Newsom highlighted a “contraction of economic growth” expected by 2022-2023, when revenue growth is projected to contract from the current 3.4 percent to 1.98 percent.
But the state isn’t holding back on investments in technology and IT and process modernization, he said. And, referring to RFI2 and the Office of Digital Innovation – both created during his administration’s first year – Newsom described a “whole new thrust, new energy in that space.”
The governor’s areas of emphasis reflect his priorities since taking office slightly more than a year ago, an IT industry expert said.
“In 2019, the state routinely communicated their goal of becoming more data-driven and customer-focused, and the 2020-21 budget appears to be in line with these objectives,” said Joe Morris, Vice President for Research for the Center for Digital Government.* “For example, the Office of Digital Innovation is actively working improve the state portal, the DMV will work to continue to improve service delivery, and the courts in California will work to digitize records and become more data-driven.” The 1,200-page budget document’s highlights include:
• $50.1 million for cybersecurity, including $11.3 million in one-time ($8.3 million General Fund) spend, $38.8 million ongoing ($29.4 million General Fund) and 85 positions to strengthen the state’s IT security operations. The budget provides funding to mature the state’s overall security posture, improve statewide information security initiatives, analyze cyberthreat intelligence and respond to and mitigate potential threats.
The need, Newsom said during the three-hour media event, has “been self-evident and highlighted with what’s going on in Iran, Russia and upon your own personal devices.”
• More than $1.4 billion for the California Department of Motor Vehicles including $200 million from the Motor Vehicle Account “to continue system and technology transformation,” according to a PowerPoint. Response times have dropped from 130 minutes to 33, Newsom said, praising staff and highlighting creation of a chatbot to answer questions about the federally mandated Real ID. He declared the agency’s IT upgrades and modernization decidedly not “Mission Accomplished,” adding: “I know all of us are frustrated by the status quo, but some progress is being made. We’re not giving up on that progress including, by the way, $200 million of additional IT procurement that we’re going to invest in this space.”
• $10.3 million in the General Fund in FY 2020-21 for the Chief Justice Commission/Courts, decreasing to $2.8 million ongoing in FY 2022-23 to advance projects in three areas: investing in a data-driven forms platform to convert static forms to electronic format; building a virtual case management system to let the Judicial Council roll out online services statewide by interfacing with individual court case management systems; and assisting trial courts in creating next-generation data centers and cloud-based solutions specific to their local environment. The budget also includes $6.9 million in FY 2020-21 and $11.3 million in FY 2021-22 to implement the second and third phases of an initiative to digitize court records.
• Funding for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire), to improve the use of technology, including reviewing data gathered via remote sensing tech, situational-awareness software and satellite imagery, to support incident command decision-making. There’s also funding for more than 100 additional fire detection cameras.
• More than $1 billion in total funding for emergency preparedness and wildfires. That includes money for new positions, surge capacity, $110 million for structural hardening – and $80 million in additional enhancement for Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR). This, Newsom told Techwire, will fund “3D mapping of the entire state to allow us to do more predictive analysis of hotspots and potential hotspots, to allow us to pre-map and pre-deploy for prevention strategies.” This, he added offers the ability to go beyond emergency preparedness to protecting natural resources.
“That comes from this innovation sprint that we announced in last year’s budget that’s already proven itself,” Newsom said, referring to RFI2.
• A $2.4 million one-time Dealers’ Record of Sale (DROS) account that’s part of the Bureau of Firearms budget, to help the agency start the planning an analysis process to merge and modernize 11 firearms tracking systems. The existing systems are antiquated, costly to update and inefficient at gathering data – and their disconnected structure makes it difficult to implement new firearms policies and reporting requirements.
• $26.9 million General Fund money for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in FY 2020-21, eventually declining to $18 million ongoing, for increased access to technology, including laptops for inmates participating in academic and vocational training.
• Funding for California Consumer Financial Protection, establishing a new Financial Technology Innovation Office that will cultivate the responsible development of new consumer financial products; and augmenting administrative and IT staff to support the department’s increased regulatory responsibilities.
• $51.4 million for the Broadband Infrastructure Improvement Grant Program, administered by the K-12 High-Speed Network, and aimed at improving broadband connectivity in local schools.
• The state’s chief executive, in response to a question from Techwire, had few kind words for IT procurement: “In the next few years, I really want to double down on the whole procurement process, the RFI, RFQ, RFP process, and really start to address the incumbent protection racket, as I describe it, of large-scale IT procurement in the state of California, which is legendarily problematic and mismanaged,” Newsom said.
• Asked by Techwire about ODI, the governor said it’s “up and running” and hiring.
“Basically just building on the commitments we made last year and then putting this thing together, which is a little more challenging than it appears because it’s all about talent,” Newsom said.
*The Center for Digital Government is part of e.Republic, parent company of Techwire.
