Administrative Office of District Attorneys urges funding for statewide case-management licenses and cybersecurity staff

The Administrative Office of the District Attorneys (AODA) told the House Appropriations & Finance Committee it needs recurring funding to operate a newly built statewide case management system and to shore up other technology and training shortfalls.

AODA Director Rick Tedrow said the executive recommendation fell short of what the agency will need to license and maintain the system once it is rolled out this fiscal year. “Without that, we’re gonna get a car with no gas, no wheels, no insurance to go anywhere,” Tedrow said, pressing lawmakers for funding for annual license fees and cloud storage estimated at about $998,000 for fiscal 2026 and additional Office 365 costs near $362,000.

Why it matters: The AODA serves as a shared service for all 13 judicial districts’ prosecutors. If the statewide case management system is not fully funded, courts, prosecutors and defense counsel may face fragmented discovery processes and slower case handling. AODA and multiple district attorneys told the committee that modern digital evidence systems reduce duplication of effort and improve access to discovery for public defenders and private counsel.

Key details - AODA asked for nearly $1,000,000 in recurring funding for user licenses (the agency initially requested roughly 1,000 licenses that it says could grow to 2,000). Tedrow said current DFA/LFC recommendations do not cover the recurring license and storage costs needed when the system goes live. - The AODA also requested $250,000 (bridge funding) to sustain the current case management system through June, until the new system is fully online. - Tedrow asked for $250,000 for statewide continuing education for prosecutors; DFA recommended $160,000. - The agency requested converting 1 term position to permanent and asked that cybersecurity roles (an information systems manager and an IT network specialist) be funded to address ransomware and other threats. - Tedrow floated a pilot program run out of AODA to procure contract attorneys to conduct independent reviews of officer-involved shootings and other high-profile cases; he suggested an initial pilot on the order of $500,000.

What AODA officials said: “We are hoping [the new case management system] rolls out this year ... we’re on track for that,” Tedrow said. He told the committee the agency needs recurring licensing and storage funding for the commercial software it has bought and will not be able to operate if the recurring fees are not provided. LFC and DFA staff told the committee they had tried to allocate some funding within constrained budgets; DFA recommended partial funding toward the cost but LFC did not include it.

Committee response and next steps: Representatives flagged the item for additional consideration. Representative Little asked whether half of the requested funding would be adequate; Tedrow said that even half would still leave the system unfunded and could require district attorneys to pay the shortfall locally. DFA and LFC analysts said they would continue to work with AODA to identify funding paths and alerted the committee to potential options—statewide consolidation under DoIT for IT and cybersecurity functions was discussed but AODA officials said statutory responsibilities, sealed juvenile records and highly sensitive content make a separate AODA-controlled system preferable.

Ending: AODA repeatedly tied its technology requests to recruitment and retention pressure on DA offices statewide and asked the committee to consider recurring, not just one-time, funding to sustain the new system after deployment.