The Joint Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on General Government convened on April 22, 2025, to discuss the modernization efforts of the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS). The meeting focused on the current status of the modernization program, recent changes in leadership, and the challenges faced in the ongoing projects.

The session began with Deputy Director Lehi Rhodes introducing the new modernization director, Christie Ivers, who has been with PERS for just two months. Ivers acknowledged her learning curve but expressed her commitment to addressing questions and concerns from the committee.

Ivers provided an overview of the modernization program's health, highlighting that an options analysis decision framework is expected to be completed by June 2025. This framework, developed with the assistance of Gartner, aims to guide the future state of the program. She noted that PERS has been working on a one-year modernization roadmap and is in the analysis phase of assessing options for the program.

Concerns were raised by the Enterprise Information Services (EIS) team, which classified the program's status as "critical." They identified two main issues: the lack of a clearly defined strategy or roadmap and incomplete solutions analysis work. Ivers responded by stating that a one-year roadmap has been developed and that the solutions analysis is currently underway.

Gartner, the independent quality assurance vendor, also identified five risks associated with the modernization efforts, including insufficient detail in the program budget request and reduced support. Ivers assured the committee that steps are being taken to address these risks, including submitting an updated policy option package to provide more clarity.

The meeting also addressed the budget for the 2023-2025 biennium, with Ivers reporting that most projects are projected to be underspent due to the absence of a modernization director for nine months. However, she indicated that the telephony project may exceed its budget and could potentially be delayed into the next biennium.

In conclusion, the subcommittee acknowledged the challenges faced by PERS in its modernization journey but expressed optimism about the steps being taken to reset the program and improve its trajectory. The next steps include completing the solutions analysis and establishing a more comprehensive two-year roadmap for the modernization efforts.