Montana* Legislative Branch cs Computer System Planning Council Legislative branch computer system plan BRANCH COMPUTER LEGISLATIVE SYSTEM PLAN A Report to the 54th Legislature from the Legislative Branch Computer System Planning Council STATE DOCUMENTS COLL ™FEB 1n M0N |TATE LIBRARY UHEnLEcNmAa,15MEO-N6TtAhNAAVE5.9320 December 1994 Published by Montana Legislative Council Montana Legislative Council State Capitol, Room 138 Helena, Montana 59620-1706 PHONE: (406) 444-3064 FAX: (406) 444-3036 MONTANASTATELIBRARY S3283L73Lbcs1994C.1 Legislativebranchcomputersystemplan 3 0864 00092374 1 Legislative Branch Computer System Plan A Report to the 54th Legislature From the Legislative Branch Computer System Planning Council December 1994 .. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION I. 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3 II. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 7 III. IV. LEGISLATIVE BUSINESS FUNCTIONS 9 A. Research 9 B. Fiscal Analysis 10 C. Legislation and Policy 10 D. Information Distribution 10 E. Oversight 11 F. Administration 11 V. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) CONTRIBUTION TO THE LEGISLATURE'S BUSINESS 13 VI. CURRENT IT ENVIRONMENT 15 A. Review of Legislative Branch Automation Process 15 B. Organization 16 C. IT Equipment 18 Computer Hardware 18 1 2. Computer Software 19 3. Telecommunications 19 D. IT Accomplishments 20 1 Information Collection 20 2. Information Analysis 20 3. Information Dissemination 22 VII. IT DIRECTION AND VISION 25 VIII. FUTURE DIRECTIONS 27 A. Current System Requirements 27 B. Expanded (Legislator and Public) Access 28 C. Summary 29 IX. IT ACTION PLAN FOR THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH 31 A. Continuity of Existing Systems 31 B. New Opportunities and Options 32 X. FY1996-97 CENTRAL NETWORK BUDGET PROPOSAL 35 A. Central Automation Budget Issues 35 APPENDICES APPENDIX A Montana Code Annotated 1993 - Title 5 - Chapter 1 1 - Part 4 Computer System Planning 41 APPENDIX B 1994-95 Biennium Branch IT Accomplishments 47 APPENDIX C Branch Standards 51 APPENDIX D Detailed Budget Proposal 57 APPENDIX E IT Impact on FTE 63 , INTRODUCTION I. A Legislative Branch Computer System Plan is required by Title 5, chapter 1 1 part 4, Montana Code Annotated. The Legislative Branch Computer System Planning Council (Planning Council) developed a plan in accordance with the requirements of that part. In addition, the Planning Council recognizes that a plan is necessary to direct the substantial investment in technology in a way that will provide the maximum return on the dollar and best address the information needs of the Branch. In developing the plan, the Planning Council recognized that planning is an active process. Publius Syrus said, "It is a bad plan that admits of no modification." (Maxim 469, Bartlett'sFamiliarQuotations, Copyright (C) 1937, 1948, 1955, 1965, 1968, 1980byLittle, Brownand Company (Inc.) All Rights Reserved). A computer system plan adopted in the last decade of the 20th century would indeed be a bad plan if it didn't admit of modification nearly every day. The Planning Council thus recognizes the plan as more a process than a product. As such, the plan provides a process for continual evaluation, communication, and review ratherthan a blueprint for a specific configuration of hardware and software. Evaluation of existing and potential applications is both technical and managerial in nature. Recognizing this, the Planning Council relied, to a great extent, on the technical staff of the Legislative Branch agencies to review existing systems and recommend technological directions and solutions to problems. The Planning Council reviews and approves the recommendations oftheTechnicalPlanning Group (TPG) beforeInformationTechnologyresources are expended. This plan representsthe collectivevision, planning, actions, and achievements of both groups as well as each agency in the Branch. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY II. The purpose of the Legislative Branch of Montana State Government is to review and make laws and to appropriate money for the operation of State Government and its services. In orderto responsibly operate this process, the Legislature depends on the collection, processing, and distribution of informationtoandfromindividualcitizens,businesses, andorganizationswithin the state. Information Technology (IT) tools expedite and add both quantity and quality to the information collected by the Branch, to the analysis of that information and to the subsequent distribution of the laws, policies and conclusions of the legislative process. In the past, Information Technology has been successfully used by the Legislative Branch primarilyto allow staff to respond more quickly to requests for information, to produce more completefiscal and operational analyses, and to speed up and reduce the costof information processing. Examples ofthese types of activities include the Bills Processing System, which allows quicker and moreaccurateprocessing of newand changed bill text, andthe Legislative Budget System, which allows dramatically more fiscal review and analysis in veryshorttimeperiodsthan was previously possible. SeeAppendix Eformore detail on the IT impact on staffing levels. More recently, IT has begun to be used effectively to improve both the collectionofinformationfromothergovernmentagenciesandthedissemination of information tothe public. For example: direct accessto agencysystems by the Legislative Auditor's Office has improved audit quality; E-mail response by agencies to fiscal notes has sped their processing; and direct access by the public to the Bill Status System, the MCA on CD-ROM, and bill text on the StateBulletinBoardSystem (BBS) hasallowedpopular, quick, anddirectaccess by interested citizens. Inthefuture, the Planning Council anticipatesthatsubstantial time, effort, and money will continue to be focused on the speed, quality, and reliability of the internal informationprocessingsystemsthattheLegislaturereliesontoconduct its business. As both technology and the processes ofthe Legislature change, these systems must be kept up-to-date to ensure their reliability and that they will continue to meet the ever-changing and ever-growing needs for timely, accurate information analysis in the Branch. It is expected, however, thatthe level of public demand for immediate and direct access to government information will continue to grow and that this demand will consume a greater percentage of information resources than it has in the past. Finally, the public will also request more direct input into the government process through technologies likee-mailand interactivevideoconferences. Theseopportunities will need to be evaluated in the future based on their value and cost- effectiveness. The Planning Council believes that the Branch is prepared to tackle these challenges in IT. An active Planning Council, supported by a well-qualified, professionaltechnicalstaff,willensurethatboththeprocessesin placeandthe systemsthatsupport them arereviewed and updated andthat opportunities to improve public access to government are evaluated, cost-justified, and implemented. The Branch is not only communicating and working together internally, but also with the Executive Branch and other state, local, and national government agencies to ensure coordination and to support government's mutual interests. The Branch plan for automation includes guidelines and established standards that have been designed to support a smooth transition to the future as technology advances. Technologically, the Branch is supported by a large base of valuable microcomputer technology and a replacement plan that ensures adequate and up-to-date computer hardware in the future. Software is largely standardized and current as well. This allows the Branch to continue to proceed with the update and consolidation of data, software development, and information processes. The continued migration toward centralization of the computer network support and software development staff, servers, budget, and other resources provides the foundation for working with other agencies and the