[{"_1":2,"_86":-5,"_87":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},"mediaId",6373506,"mediaKeyId","2145809-b8bcdc33bd851da49a74bbd36c2bc231","parentId",2145809,"title","Agency of Digital Services outlines AI inventory, security priorities and IT modernization projects","audioSeconds",2493,"startMs",2776000,"endMs",5269000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2145809-b8bcdc33bd851da49a74bbd36c2bc231&start=2776&end=5269","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2145809-b8bcdc33bd851da49a74bbd36c2bc231/thumbnail_2776000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6373506/Vermont/Agency-of-Digital-Services-outlines-AI-inventory-security-priorities-and-IT-modernization-projects","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6373506-0f8818a534d9220faa372e1c2b53b5ba/orig.mp4?Expires=1775294818&Signature=msA6Q420q6EABnx2Cc9k4o-jiDsC1-7okFAkgUFebIbaAdyDV4~nXSS23O~weX~Od~cPGRGVOJd2djOQysv8VQfJRxIcAMOKOc4ePoubI6vaJBhrECUBc~1W3slWZymGxn5IgdCnHp8Fnl8hMfVDhsG3QbsRX~OUoCnqJaydXc76HOxpodJZztvsjZXV6FZIsC6G7ZvmCvkQ-gYL4-6874wuF5icWcJnmNDtA89fxY6hmwQ82MSabwY4R3NHh8jQQmUpx9QJjtpDVY4XCgBOHTbW14MgblxmA6-SWM4flkQ68weunoGNoTlKdMeT7jxhG6EKIP~0q6RVa4Fnl2I6SQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","","date","2025-01-23T18:32:29Z","article","Denise Riley Hughes, secretary of the Agency of Digital Services and Vermont’s state chief information officer, told the Senate Government Operations Committee on Jan. 23 that the agency has shifted into an organizational maturity phase focused on standards, predictability and user experience across state IT systems.

Hughes said the agency now houses a combined data and artificial-intelligence division and maintains an AI inventory that lists more than 37 AI systems in use across state government. She described the agency’s approach as “human in the loop,” stressing that the state’s AI code of ethics requires disclosure and human oversight for systems that affect people.

Why it matters: The agency’s work affects how Vermonters interact with government websites and services, how personal data are handled and how the state defends systems against frequent cybersecurity probes. Committee members requested more detail on AI governance, data-privacy recommendations and the agency’s security posture.

What the agency reported: Hughes listed three near-term strategic priorities: improving user experience so Vermonters can find and use services more easily; setting and enforcing technical and procurement standards; and improving predictability of IT spending through enterprise contracting and lifecycle planning. She said the agency manages enterprise platforms (for example, a statewide productivity/cloud suite), operates an enterprise project office with dozens of active projects, and consolidated shared-technical staff into “enterprise services” to improve supportability and standardization.

On AI: Hughes said Vermont was an early adopter of a state AI director and an AI advisory council and that the agency publishes annual AI inventory and council reports. The council produced a code of ethics and a user guide; Hughes said the council reviews the guidance annually and the agency seeks to hold vendors accountable when they enable AI in contracted products. “We don’t think that AI is an opportunity to replace people,” she said, describing the “human in the loop” approach.

On cybersecurity: The agency’s security operations center monitors high volumes of scans and probes. Hughes said the state receives “millions” of automated probes and that the agency tracks trends, works with the Vermont Intelligence Center and Department of Public Safety, and is increasing monitoring coverage on systems that were previously unmonitored. The committee asked for an aggregated breakdown of routine automated scans versus attempts targeted at Vermont systems; the agency said it can provide follow-up information.

On modernization projects: Hughes summarized several active, state-funded modernization efforts: (1) an enterprise resource-planning/workday program to replace older HR and finance systems, (2) unemployment insurance modernization (the vendor and platform align with other large projects), (3) DMV driver’s license modernization (phase 2 approaching completion), and (4) a network modernization procurement currently in an independent review stage.

Committee direction and next steps: Senators asked the agency to share its AI code-of-ethics materials, the AI inventory, and any analyses the agency uses to assess privacy and vendor risk. Members also requested a short briefing on security incident volumes (routine probes, denial-of-service activity, and targeted attacks) and asked the agency to assist the legislature with data-privacy deliberations this session.

Ending: Hughes said the agency will deliver updated strategic materials and documentation to the committee and offered to return for further hearings on AI, data privacy and project status updates.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Senate Government Operations - 2025-1-23 - 1:30PM","oneSentenceSummary","Denise Riley Hughes, secretary and state CIO, briefed the Senate Government Operations Committee on the Agency of Digital Services’ priorities: artificial intelligence governance, cybersecurity monitoring, enterprise standards, and ongoing modernization projects including Workday for HR/finance and an unemployment modernization effort.","taxTitle","Government Operations, SENATE, Committees, Legislative , Vermont","taxId",38232,"location","Vermont","headline","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":44,"_47":80,"_49":81,"_51":82,"_53":83,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":84,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":85,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},6373511,"Senate panel questions legality, costs of governor’s plan to create Agency of Public Safety",2774,2000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2145809-b8bcdc33bd851da49a74bbd36c2bc231&start=2&end=2776","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2145809-b8bcdc33bd851da49a74bbd36c2bc231/thumbnail_2000.jpg","/articles/6373511/Vermont/Senate-panel-questions-legality-costs-of-governors-plan-to-create-Agency-of-Public-Safety","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6373511-9e3c38fe781a16c1df1995c3b51b9ed8/orig.mp4?Expires=1775294818&Signature=aoMzsKCMoxWp0ui2b-EHZmEv0qBz8TFCWCkwnvZekRD27LARpmkN4Ty4VT3eKKO9lrdT5zCIlAOKZC7ZqoO8uisu05QNp5YuAMPaQaAAWEKfVu74J3AOn1zGitnjMbu5elXDa~ODRPtNHKogQjOiDFgRyALL2M-tgmGBTvIYr0yfeLHlNtvd2n9oeT0uhBWs3bgq79urVjG4peoM89ROMN~L6VFZ1GVb4PD0wDFAprNuJU3lDkkjUsTPdHQkb07is9S~NjT0RcLKw4gp7fYTzLv6nyej96QeymDK5iC5WD4L9AuG1LUgKXUMFLD45WRIO-Cia332CxMiEx8wIkvgSQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Tucker Anderson, legislative counsel for the Office of Legislative Council, told the Senate Government Operations Committee on Jan. 23 that Executive Order 01-25 would reorganize the Department of Public Safety into a new Agency of Public Safety and, in doing so, “purports to grant authority to the governor to propose the reorganization of an administrative agency in the executive branch.”

The order relies on 3 V.S.A. § 2002, Anderson said, a statute that authorizes the governor to issue executive orders changing the organization of executive-branch agencies. Anderson emphasized the statute allows these executive orders to be “lawmaking” in effect — that is, to supersede existing statutes — and described legal fault lines over whether the General Assembly’s power to disapprove the order can be exercised by either chamber alone or must be bicameral.

Why it matters: If an executive order can change statutory structure without a full legislative bill, it raises separation-of-powers and budget questions. Several senators said they felt the changes described in the order were substantive enough to warrant a full legislative process, or at least more committee review, rather than being enacted by executive order alone.

The committee’s discussion focused on three legal and practical points: the statutory process under 3 V.S.A. § 2002; the constitutional concerns about unicameral disapproval versus bicameral action; and fiscal and personnel implications from converting a department into an agency. Anderson warned the EO’s whereas clauses — which assert that disapproval must be expressed by both houses — conflict with the statute, which says disapproval may be adopted by either house within 90 days of submission. He also said there are “colorable arguments on both sides” about delegation of legislative authority and whether the legislature may lawfully delegate power that effectively changes statute to the governor.

Multiple senators pressed for concrete costing information. One senator noted pay-act implications: changing department division directors to commissioners or creating cabinet-level secretaries would have “huge pay implications,” and another urged the Joint Fiscal Office (JFO) be asked to prepare or confirm a fiscal note. Several members said they were not opposed to the policy aim of reorganizing public-safety functions but were uneasy about the method and the ticking 90-day window that would allow the order to take effect unless a resolution disapproving it is passed.

Committee action and next steps: The panel did not vote on any resolution. Members directed staff to: (1) ask JFO whether a fiscal note exists or should be produced; (2) invite the administration’s commissioner and other affected division heads to testify about operational and personnel impacts; and (3) schedule a longer follow-up hearing (the chair said the item is on the committee docket for the following week with additional time requested).

What remains unsettled: Anderson said there are no controlling judicial decisions about this precise statutory exercise and that the statute contains ambiguities — for example, whether it lawfully authorizes reorganization that affects independently elected constitutional officers. He recommended the General Assembly consider whether to disapprove the order by resolution, and he noted that even if the EO is disapproved, the legislature could subsequently introduce a bill to accomplish a similar reorganization through the legislative process.

Ending: Committee members expressed a range of views — some favoring more study and hearings, others prepared to pursue a disapproval resolution if warranted — but agreed to obtain a fiscal analysis and additional testimony before deciding whether to advance formal action.","The Senate Government Operations Committee reviewed Executive Order 01-25, which would convert the Department of Public Safety into a new Agency of Public Safety. Legislative counsel flagged statutory and constitutional questions, senators pressed for a fiscal note and further testimony, and the committee scheduled additional review.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Agency of Digital Services outlines AI inventory, security priorities and IT modernization projects

Senate panel questions legality, costs of governor’s plan to create Agency of Public Safety