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ANR raises need for agency-wide asset and licensing IT systems
Summary
ANR officials told the committee the agency needs a comprehensive asset-management system to track parks, dams and other infrastructure and that several ANR divisions will need modern licensing and point-of-sale systems.
Julie Moore, secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources, told the committee that ANR manages a large portfolio of infrastructure and needs a consolidated asset-management system.
Moore said ANR owns “upwards of $2,000,000,000 worth of infrastructure” across state parks, fishing access areas, hatcheries and major dams and that much of that information is currently tracked within individual program silos. She said ANR has been studying whether to link to the Agency of Transportation’s existing asset-management platform or to build a department-level system and that the agency has proposed funding for scoping in its budget request.
Commissioners representing Fish and Wildlife, Forests, Parks and Recreation and the Department of Environmental Conservation described other near-term IT needs. Andrea Shortleaf, interim commissioner of the Department of Fish and Wildlife, said the agency anticipates replacing its license‑sales point‑of‑sale system within three years; she told the committee the current infrastructure is “out of date” and limits the types of licenses the department can offer.
Jason Batchelder, commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation, identified an internal administration and innovation division that handles records and some IT support; he noted the department has dedicated staff (Kim McKee) who manage systems and hiring and that IT capacity is an ongoing administrative challenge.
Committee members requested follow-up testimony focused on state IT systems, interoperability and staffing. Several members said they plan extended hearings to examine whether state agency systems are siloed, how systems communicate across departments and how to prioritize upgrades.
Committee chair and members also discussed vacancies and hiring in ANR divisions: Batchelder said DEC’s recent vacancy rate hovered around 11% at his most recent check and that hiring and resignations are an ongoing administrative reality. Several committee members asked staff to prepare subject-matter experts for detailed testimony on IT integration next week.
