Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

In the near future I plan on introducing legislation to allocate $50 million of the Commonwealth’s allocation from the State Fiscal Relief Fund authorized through the American Rescue Plan (ARP) for upgrades to various IT systems throughout Commonwealth agencies. 

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the limitations of the Commonwealth’s IT systems. Many systems are legacy systems created at a time when the when technology lacked the capabilities of today. More troublesome, many of these IT systems have exceeded their useful life and updating them or maintaining them is costing the Commonwealth millions. For example, the Department of Labor and Industry (L&I) is in the process of upgrading its unemployment compensation system which was nearly 60 years old. Some systems, such as those within the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs, require someone in person to access or operate them. 

COVID-19 has caused us to rethink how government works. For more than a year, we have had to have access to systems from locations other than our physical office. By investing in these upgrades now, we can continue to rethink the way government works and ensure that no matter what the next public health crisis is government, operations will continue uninterrupted. Guidance from the U.S. Treasury on the ARP allows state governments to use funding from the State Fiscal Relief Fund for “. . . [improving] the efficacy of programs addressing negative economic impacts, including through . . . technology infrastructure . . .” 

Under my proposal, $50 million would be provided to the Office of Administration to be used for upgrading IT systems throughout various Commonwealth agencies. 

I hope you will join me in sponsoring this legislation.