The 2023-2024 Budget Act went into print late Sunday and it’s clear that despite facing an estimated $32 billion shortfall, state departments will likely move forward on a variety of IT- and innovation-related initiatives. Per the state’s constitution, members of the Senate and Assembly have until June 15 to approve a state budget for the 2023-2024 Fiscal Year starting July 1.
That said, the budget is typically refined through a series of budget trailer bills that may shed further light on state technology work. Tech funding in the budget bill includes:
- $66.6 million for the California Department of Social Services for the Child Welfare Services-California Automated Response and Engagement System (CWS-CARES) project, contingent on approval of project documents by the Department of Finance (DOF) and the Department of Technology (CDT). The money may be augmented by up to $35.1 million for implementation and data infrastructure contracts on approval by DOF “in consultation with” CDT. DOF will consider “verified satisfactory progress” toward project milestones.
- $3.4 million for the Department of Motor Vehicles for the Enterprise Content Management Information Technology project, upon approval by CDT and DOF.
- $2.9 million for the Department of Pesticide Regulation’s California Pesticide Electronic Submission Tracking (CalPEST) project, formerly known as the Pesticide Registration Database Management System. The funding may be augmented once CDT project approval comes. Then funding will be available for “encumbrance or expenditure” until June 30, 2027.
- $2 million to the Secretary of State’s Office to establish and run the Office of Elections Cybersecurity. The budget notes the office’s activities “are intended to be specific to elections” and designed to “minimize overlap and in coordination with statewide cybersecurity efforts performed by the California Cybersecurity Integration Center.” In two separate allotments, there’s a total of up to $1.7 million to support the Safe at Home database expansion project, contingent on CDT project approval.
- Up to $2 million for the Department of Public Health to support the Surveillance, Health, Intervention, and Environmental Lead Database project, ready for expenditure upon CDT project approval.
- Nearly $1.7 million for the Department of Justice for the License 2000 System project, which is the Bureau of Gambling Control’s License System Replacement. The funds will be authorized to spend once the project clears Stage 2 of CDT’s Project Approval Lifecycle.
- The precise amount isn’t clear, but from $69 million allocated to the Judicial Council to “fund local assistance to each superior court” based on its county’s proportional population, there will also be “costs for technology to facilitate information exchange and process automation between courts and county departments.”
