Legislators question JITOC’s role after budget language requires committee sign‑off for $40M in IT modernization funds

Maria Royal of the Legislative Council told the House Energy and Digital Infrastructure Committee on Wednesday, April 2, that the joint interim oversight body created to review state information technology investments—the Joint Information Technology Committee (JITOC) established in statute—has an unclear relationship to standing committees and that required JITOC approvals for some technology modernization releases are not readily documented.

Royal, briefing members in the committee’s interim meeting, said the statute creating the committee is codified at 2 V.S.A. §614 and that the committee was created to "oversee, evaluate, and make recommendations" on the state's deployment and governance of information technology. The JITOC membership is defined in statute as six legislators (three members appointed from the House and three from the Senate, not all from the same political party), and the committee elects a chair and vice chair; the chairship rotates biannually between the chambers.

Royal and committee members reviewed…