Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the State Administration topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Department of Administration outlines broadband, procurement and workforce modernization priorities
Summary
Director Misty Ann Giles briefed the committee on the Department of Administration's portfolio: a remote-office workspace study, management of federal broadband grants (Connect MT and BEAD funds), procurement modernization across roughly $3 billion in annual contracts, centralizing public records, and House Bill 13 on state employee pay and health-plan changes.
Misty Ann Giles, director of the Department of Administration, gave a broad overview of the agency's internal-facing functions and upcoming legislation.
Giles summarized a remote-office workspace study funded with $10 million seed money and additional funds to redesign state office space for hybrid work. She said the department manages the Connect MT broadband program (ARPA-funded grants) and is reviewing federal BEAD applications; Giles noted Montana received $628 million in BEAD allocation and that BEAD funds are targeted to unserved locations.
On procurement, Giles said the state runs about $3,000,000,000 in contracts annually and described steps to centralize procurement expertise, refine delegation thresholds (contracts above $200,000 receive additional review), and expand strategic sourcing to reduce redundant contracting. She also described centralizing public records responses, setting a five-day initial response target, and legal backstops to prevent requests from going more than 90 days without justification.
Giles previewed House Bill 13, which governs state employee pay and the state health plan; she said the negotiated pay increase is $1 an hour or 2.5% (higher starting wages) with per diem adjustments tied to 70% of the federal standard. Giles said agencies processed more than 900,000 checks related to tax rebates in the last year and saved $28,000,000 by reforming the health plan.
Committee members asked about data governance in education and potential additional IT funding for OPI; Giles said MOUs and governing documents are in place and indicated there may be added budget for IT needs to support the new superintendent.
