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Newsom Proposed Budget Has 2 CDT Program Changes

As part of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed 2022-2023 Fiscal Year budget, the California Department of Technology would have two major program changes — and, of course, partner with other state entities on IT projects.

California Capitol Building
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s otherwise robust proposed budget for the state technology department lacks one key line item from last year: $3.25 billion in federal coronavirus relief.

That being said, Newsom’s proposed FY 2022-2023 state budget, which he released Monday, is about 9 percent larger overall than last year’s enacted budget. This year’s budget is $286.4 billion overall, compared with $262.6 for the FY 2021-2022 enacted budget. And, swelled by a projected $45.7 billion surplus, it would give the California Department of Technology more money — a proposed $508.4 million, as compared to $446.7 million in FY 2020-2021 and, yes, nearly $3.8 billion in FY 2021-2022. (Absent last year’s federal Coronavirus Fiscal Recovery Fund of 2021 monies, as they’re referred to in CDT’s budget, the department’s budget was slightly more than $524.4 million. Also worth noting: CDT’s FY 2020-2021 budget apparently has settled a bit further: last summer’s FY 2021-2022 enacted budget projected $537.1 million in FY 2020-2021.) Here are some items of interest in CDT’s new proposed budget:

  • The department would have two “major program changes” in this budget. There’s $44.1 million in General Fund monies for FY 2022-2023 and through FY 2024-2025 to “fund internal operating costs currently funded through the Technology Services Revolving Fund (TSRF).” And there’s $10.5 million from the General Fund across the same two fiscal years “to mitigate revenue losses for the Office of Technology Services (OTS) currently funded through the TSRF.” (Keep in mind, Newsom’s proposed budget will likely get much reworking and a formal May revision before the constitutional June 15 deadline for the Legislature to pass it.) In an email to Techwire, the Department of Finance (DOF) said: “Through the TSRF, CDT receives reimbursements based on set rates for each product or service provided to departments. These rates have historically included necessary costs to fund CDT services that cannot be directly billed to departments.”
  • OTS’ “overall role and scope of services provided” aren’t changing, DOF said. The loss of revenue, it said, “is attributed to the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Department of Child Support Services no longer utilizing various services offered by CDT; therefore, CDT’s total reimbursement revenue for providing services such as cloud storage and California Government Enterprise Network will decline. We note, the volume of services provided will require an adjustment since these large clients are no longer purchasing these services through CDT. CDT requires additional General Fund to support OTS’ operational costs while these service areas are appropriately scaled down.” Funding in CDT’s budget from the Technology Services Revolving Fund, which rose from $436.3 million in FY 2020-2021 to $451.6 million in FY 2021-2022, would decline in this budget more than 10 percent to about $408.2 million.
  • As it has in the past, CDT will continue working with a wide variety of state entities on technology projects — including the California State Payroll System (CSPS) Project, as referenced in Newsom’s Budget Summary. The project aims to “modernize the human resource management and payroll system” state government staffers use “to provide accurate and timely personnel and payroll services with quality customer service.” It’s a joint venture overseen by the California State Controller’s Office (SCO) and the California Department of Human Resources (CalHR), with “involvement and oversight” from the departments of Finance and Technology and the Government Operations Agency. Its objectives include “enabling greater employee and manager self-service functionality,” like “online view capabilities for payroll, employment history, and tax information.” The project will also deliver a “user-friendly interface” for human resource and payroll transaction specialists. This budget would deliver to SCO $97.8 million in one-time funding — $58.7 million of that from the General Fund — and 33 positions in FY 2022-2023; $6.8 million in one-time funding — $4.1 million General Fund — and 40 positions in FY 2023-2024; and $6.7 million ongoing funding — $4 million General Fund — and 39 positions in FY 2024-2025. It would provide CalHR $3.4 million in General Fund monies and 15 positions in FY 2022-2023, $3.3 million General Fund in FY 2023-2024 to FY 2024-2025, and $2.6 million General Fund in FY 2025-2026 and ongoing. These resources, per the summary, “will allow SCO and CalHR to transition to the implementation phase of the project.”
Theo Douglas is Assistant Managing Editor of Industry Insider — California.