Legislative council authorizes strict addendum with Propelon to finish CALIS Phase 1 for 2027

The Legislative Coordinating Council on Monday authorized staff to negotiate a narrowly scoped addendum with the vendor referred to in the meeting as Propelon to finish Phase 1 of the legislature's CALIS modernization project, aiming for a production‑ready system by January 2027.

Tom Day and Altaf Uddin summarized the council's prior actions, including stop‑work orders and an evaluation of options: continue with Propelon under stricter terms, terminate and solicit a new vendor, or develop an in‑house replacement. "Recommendation 1 is that we work with Propelon for phase 1 with very strict conditions on Propelon," Altaf Uddin told the council, saying the addendum would set delivery schedules, acceptance criteria and payment terms.

The steering committee recommended completing the bill‑drafting and codification components in Phase 1, then returning to the LCC to seek approval and resources for Phase 2 to reduce long‑term vendor dependency. Uddin said the goal is a production‑ready system for the 2027 session but stressed the committee would require full acceptance tests: if the vendor begins work by early June, the committee would seek time for testing through mid‑September.

Members pressed for specifics. Senator Sykes asked whether the addendum would add cost and what exact deliverables would be provided. Uddin said the intent is to keep costs ‘‘within what was planned’’ and to spell out mandatory deliverables and milestones in the addendum. "The solution has to be in production, ready for production January 2027," he said.

Several members expressed frustration with the project's history. "We've spent millions of dollars on this, and yet the confidence of this body has been very poor of this product," Majority Leader Blazy said, urging strict deliverables and remedies. Uddin agreed that the addendum should include specific requirements and clawbacks if necessary.

After discussion, Senate President Ty Masterson moved to accept the subcommittee's recommendation, authorize negotiation of a strict addendum with Propelon, and authorize the LCC chair to review and sign the agreement; the motion was seconded by Majority Leader Chris Croft and passed by voice vote.

Next steps: staff were directed to negotiate the addendum with strict acceptance criteria and return to the chair and the LCC as needed. The council did not adopt a Phase 2 plan at this meeting but asked the steering committee to present cost estimates and resource needs if the body is later asked to pursue in‑house development.