2016 Techwire Year in Review, Part 3

What will this year be remembered for? When the dust settles, 2016 could be a tipping point for innovation in California government, as new ideas, new leaders and new approaches began to make their imprint on the state’s technology landscape. Here’s a chronological review of the year’s biggest headlines from July, August and September that could have an impact in the future.

July

California Opens Innovation Lab

The state opens its long-awaited innovation lab, a sandbox within the state’s private cloud where public-sector developers can experiment with, share and reuse open source code and technology in a secure environment. Cited as the Office of Digital Innovation and Technology Engagement’s first major initiative, the California Innovation Lab allows users to access a private database instance, quick-start templates and collaborate with others on application development.

Agile Will Bring Changes to Existing IT Policies and Processes, State CIO Says

California kicks off a multidepartmental effort to incorporate new policies and processes for agile IT development within existing workflows. The state is looking at what changes are needed so agile can be used within the state’s current framework for project management, project approval, independent project oversight and other key functions.

FI$Cal Hits ‘Big Milestone’ on State Budget Data

California presents its enacted state budget with the same amount of detail as the proposed budget released earlier in the year, thanks to new features provided by the state’s centralized financial accounting system, FI$Cal. This marks the first year Fi$Cal included all budget information in one system. New features include printable budget documents and more program-level detail.

August

Board of Equalization Approves Contract for CROS Project

The Board of Equalization approves an $85.1 million contract with Fast Enterprises as the primary vendor of the Centralized Revenue Opportunity System. The new system will modernize legacy systems built in the 1990s to collect and monitor sales-and-use taxes, property taxes, special taxes and other revenue streams.

California Finishes New Approval Process for IT Projects

The Department of Technology announces the state’s management manuals have been updated to include the fourth and final stage of a new approval process for IT projects. Replacing the old Feasibility Study Report approval process, the four-phase Project Approval Lifecycle includes business analysis, alternatives analysis, solution development phase, and project readiness and approval. As part of the process reforms, the Department of Technology also is tracking and updating “conceptually approved” IT projects on a quarterly basis, rather than yearly.

California Finishes Major Tax System Modernization Project

The Franchise Tax Board celebrates the completion of its Enterprise Data to Revenue (EDR) project, a major five-year effort that has modernized technology systems and business processes supporting the collection of tax revenue in California. Among many new features, EDR re-engineers filing and validation processes, enables scanned document imaging instead of paper, and improves self-service options through the MyFTB online taxpayer folder.

California Cybersecurity Integration Center Moves Forward

More details come to light about the California Cybersecurity Integration Center (Cal-CSIC) that the Brown administration created through an executive order to bolster the state’s cybersecurity readiness, response and defense. Operational since mid-April 2016, the center’s mission is to focus on cyberthreat analysis, assessments, information sharing, and incident response and coordination. While Cal-CSIC leverages both state and federal partnerships, its main focus is the “state family.”

September

State Launches Digital Platform to Collect Police Use-of-Force Data

The California Department of Justice announces an all-digital data collection platform that law enforcement agencies will use to report officer-involved shootings and other police “use of-force” incidents. The platform, called URSUS, will help generate the first comprehensive statewide data set of police use-of-force incidents in the nation, according to CalDOJ and the platform’s developer, technology nonprofit Bayes Impact.

Vendor Advisory Council Targets IT Procurement and Contracting Reforms

California’s newly convened Vendor Advisory Council will weigh in with recommendations for how the state could revamp its procurement strategy and streamline its complicated array of contract vehicles. The advisory body, which met for the first time in September, will form workgroups to focus on those core topics — procurement reform and contracting — with diverse representation among large, medium and small companies.

California Launches First True Open Data Portal

Following a successful pilot, officials from the California Government Operations Agency (GovOps) announce the launch of the state’s first agencywide open data portal, data.ca.gov. Although the site was previously released a number of years back, the revamp bundles the state’s diverse data sets into downloadable spreadsheets and PDFs for citizens; for developers, the portal connects the info to APIs so apps can instantly access it.

Gov. Brown Signs Bills Requiring Agencies Implement Updated Databases

Gov. Brown signs three bills requiring state agencies to develop and upgrade database systems. The first, AB 1755, directs the California Department of Water Resources and partnering state agencies to create a statewide water data platform, followed by SB 877, which requires the Department of Public Health to create and manage a California Electronic Violent Death Reporting System. The third bill, SB 1349, requires a complete rebuild of Cal-Access, the state’s campaign and lobbying database.


Read part 1 and part 2 of our year in review, covering the first half of 2016.