New Name, IT Funding for the Office of Planning and Research

Nearly $8 million has been allocated for information technology infrastructure projects at a department you’ve likely never heard of — that is, unless you read budget trailer bills.

The Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation, a rebranding of the more familiar Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR), will see $3.7 million for IT infrastructure needs in 2024 and again in 2025, according to a Senate analysis of the main state budget trailer bill.

The department’s mission may be somewhat opaque for those outside of state government. It includes land use and planning, climate and environment, research and education and intergovernmental coordination, according to its website.

Last month, Gov. Gavin Newsom and lawmakers reached a budget deal to address the state’s $46.8 billion budget deficit through a $297.9 billion budget package, which included several allocations for technology initiatives.

While details about the exact type of technology infrastructure needed for the department is a mystery at this point, OPR has spent more than $2.1 million on its top six IT goods contracts since January. This included software subscriptions, desktop support services and hardware.

It’s a similar story for the top four IT services contracts, which included more than $3.2 million in application development, analytics and cloud services since January, according to the State Contracting and Procurement Registration System (SCPRS).

The rebranding was mandated in Senate Bill 164, which was signed by the governor June 29. It stipulates that all references to OPR would be replaced by the new moniker effective July 1.