State IT appropriation bill draws questions on prior allocations and project pacing

House Bill 10 would appropriate roughly $50 million for state information technology modernization projects, sponsor Rep. John Fitzpatrick told the Senate Finance and Claims Committee in a joint presentation. The bill targets legacy system replacement, cybersecurity upgrades (including AI‑driven threat detection), identity proofing and improved citizen‑facing service platforms.

Kevin Gilbertson, state chief information officer, and project leads from multiple agencies described agency requests and noted subcommittee efforts to reduce the request from the House level. The bill groups projects by agency rather than listing detailed line items for each procurement; budget office staff and the CIO—s office said that aggregation helps protect competitive procurement dynamics while staff retain and can provide detailed cost breakdowns to the legislature on request.

Agency witnesses and committee members focused substantial attention on previously appropriated but still unspent IT dollars. Committee members repeatedly asked departments to provide updated, itemized status reports listing last session—s allocations, how much remains unspent, and the planned schedule to obligate and expend those funds. Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) CIO Carrie Albro told the committee that federal approvals, procurement due diligence, contracting reviews and cyber security requirements have lengthened project timelines and that some federal conditional approvals (for systems such as CCWIS) can add months to schedules.

Judicial branch funding for courtroom audio‑visual upgrades and e‑filing also drew questions. The judiciary reported it has completed proof‑of‑concept work and said installers have shifted to Zoom Rooms technology after early equipment choices did not meet audio quality needs. The judiciary said the earlier $750,000 allocation for statewide courtroom AV is being used in stages across counties and offered to provide a prioritized list of courthouses with equipment installed and those still awaiting upgrades.

Other agency items discussed included DPHHS— CCWIS replacement (federal approvals and independent verification/validation services), an $11.5 million judicial e‑filing upgrade request, numerous Department of Transportation and Department of Administration projects, and targeted cybersecurity work for enterprise operating systems.

Committee members asked for more transparency on past allocations and clearer project benchmarks. Representative Fitzpatrick said the bill is intentionally focused on modernization and cybersecurity at a time of rising threats, and he pledged to work with the committee on reporting and procurement oversight. Several members asked agencies to provide updated, itemized status reports before the Finance committee votes on the bill.

Ending note: Agencies agreed to provide more detailed spending and schedule information for previously appropriated IT projects and to produce prioritized implementation lists (for example, courthouses awaiting AV upgrades) before the committee advances appropriations.