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Committee raises major-IT threshold to $5 million, approves amended bill
Summary
The Senate State and Local Government Committee approved amended Senate Bill 2049 to redefine "major information technology projects," raising the reporting/oversight threshold to $5 million and allowing CIO discretion to add projects for oversight. The committee voted 6-0 on both the amendment and the bill recommendation.
The State and Local Government Committee voted to advance an amended version of Senate Bill 2049 that changes how the state defines "major information technology projects," raising the monetary threshold to $5,000,000 and giving the chief information officer discretion to bring lower-cost projects into oversight.
Corey Mok, chief information officer for the State of North Dakota, told the committee the change reflects how agencies now buy more licensed, out-of-the-box solutions rather than building large custom applications. "Instead of making it a dollar amount ... putting a dollar amount on a front end is not entirely the best way of analyzing the cost," Mok said, adding that the amendment preserves oversight for projects that are long-running or that "warrant additional oversight due to any potential benefits, risks, public impact, visibility, or other significant reason."
Mok said the department currently supports about 74 executive steering committees (ESCs) that provide formal oversight on projects; he estimated the definition change would reduce that number by roughly half. He also told senators the department maintains oversight work at lower thresholds through project analysts for projects exceeding $100,000.
Senators asked about drafting details, inconsistent numbers in the printed amendment, and how the $5 million figure was chosen. Mok said the figure was based on benchmarking other states and the department's project portfolio and noted that the amendment presented had not completed legislative council drafting at the time of the hearing.
After discussion, Senator Varda moved to adopt the proposed amendment (1,002 form) and Senator Brownberger seconded. The clerk recorded a 6-0 vote to adopt the amendment. Senator Varda then moved a do-pass recommendation on SB 2049 as amended, seconded by Senator Brownberger; the committee recorded a 6-0 do-pass recommendation.
The amended language will: place a single definition of "major information technology project" into the Information Technology Department's code, set a $5,000,000 and/or one-year development threshold (or projects deemed important for public impact/risk/visibility), require the CIO to appoint oversight committees with more flexible membership and an oversight analyst chair, and preserve other oversight processes at lower dollar thresholds.
The committee record shows unanimous support at the committee level; the bill must still complete the legislative process before becoming law.
Mok said the department will continue internal policy work to prioritize project development and to provide subject-matter experts who can oversee multiple projects across portfolios. "This is a major improvement," he said, describing a goal of broader expertise in oversight rather than many narrowly composed committees.
Votes at a glance: The committee recorded a 6-0 vote to adopt the amendment and a 6-0 do-pass recommendation on SB 2049 in amended form.
