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Top StoriesGovernment Affairs and Advocacy
NASCIO's priorities for the second session of the 111th Congress, the Obama Administration and strategic partners are the following: reforming federal cost allocation, improving federal coordination of IT directives to the states, improving cyber coordination/funding, expand state connectivity and broadband infrastructure and supporting funds for the Department of Justice Information Sharing and Technology Program. NASCIO representatives are also participating in three new federal-state partnerships - DHS/White House Secure Transactions Online, OMB Partnership for Program Integrity Innovation and FEMA Preparedness Task Force. We will need CIOs support to be successful in these efforts. The hot topic in technology in Washington is the release of the National Broadband Plan on March 17 by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Expanding state connectivity and broadband infrastructure is one of NASCIO's top advocacy priorities. NASCIO has been working with the National Governors Association in monitoring the activities surrounding broadband from awarding of grants from NTIA/RUS for BTOP, BIP and mapping to congressional legislation. The FCC has unveiled the highly anticipate broadband plan titled Connecting American: The National Broadband Plan. It is 360-pages. As directed by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (P.L. 111-5), the FCC developed the national strategy to ensure universal access to high-speed Internet technology, increase the availability of broadband technology and advance national priorities in public safety, health care, energy, education and civic engagement through broadband usage. The plan presents recommendations for the FCC, the Executive Branch, Congress and state and local governments to achieve the long-term goals outlined in the plan. States will be affected by the recommendations even though the proposal is aimed at the federal agencies and the FCC such as a coordination of grant programs to help expand broadband. Some recommendations will require congressional action while, others will be implemented by federal agencies and the FCC. Other recommendations are directed at states such as establishing a best practices clearinghouse for states to learn what works for adoption and building infrastructure or building a public safety broadband network. NASCIO's State Connectivity and Broadband Working Group is planning to review the plan and let states know what recommendations CIOs should be concerned about and be able to discuss at our mid-year conference. NASCIO plans to issue a general statement of support for the FCC in finishing this important undertaking. NASCIO is anxiously waiting to review the recommendations in the National Broadband Plan and federal legislation regarding reforming the universal service fund (USF) and E-rate. We support the efforts to allow USF to include broadband as an eligible use. However, states are major contributors to the fund since we are the largest customer of major local exchange carrier. With more residential customers electing to disconnect their landline services, this has led to state government having to increase total dollars states pay into the fund. Given our economic crisis, NASCIO will urge the FCC and Congress to coordinate and consult the states on overhauling the Universal Service Fund and E-rate to expand broadband since any alternations to the program will affect states budgets and authority since they are regulators, providers and purchasers of telecommunication services. Hearings are expected to be held by the Congress and we will be tracking and working with strategic partners to inform policymakers about the impact of the plan on the states. If you have any questions, please contact Pam Walker at pwalker@amrms.com or (202) 624-8477. NASCIO on Unlimited Liability - Gaining Traction on the Road to "Win-Win"
In a new research brief release by NASCIO, Gaining Traction on the Road to Win-Win: Limitations on Liability in State IT Contracting highlights the challenges associated with unlimited liability and the advocacy efforts to broaden competition in the marketplace. This brief provides research on the subject, and the statistics for current trends related to reforming unlimited liability provisions. This report is available at: www.nascio.org/publications. Update from the NIEM Program Management Office (PMO)
Feedback following the event was that the Town Hall was a good start to the year. But many were wondering how we planned to follow up. It took a good week to get through all of the ideas that were generated, 554 is no small number! But we have heard you. We have found a few consistent themes, some of which we already have plans in place to implement. Some will require a little more thought. Be sure to look for more updates from the NIEM PMO as we continue to put additional action plans in place. Please keep the conversation open. We are on Twitter (several accounts actually: RockinNIEM, NIEMExecDir, NIEMTekArch and NIEMBizArch) and LinkedIn (over 1200 members!). In addition, you can always contact us directly via email at NIEMPMO@niem.gov. Also, did you hear? The NIEM program has welcomed two new State and Local committee co-chairs. Please join us in welcoming Pat Brooks (Assistant Director of the Missouri Information Technology Division for the Office of State Courts Administrator) as the new State & Local Co-Chair of the NIEM Business Architecture Committee and Maury Mitchell (Director for Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center) as the new State & Local Co-Chair of the NIEM Communications & Outreach Committee. Article provide by Christina Bapst, NIEM. State Members Among the 2010 Top 25 Doers, Dreamers and DriversSeveral state members were among those named the "Top 25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers of 2010" by Government Technology magazine. 2010 honorees include:
Nominations Now Open for the 2010 Recognition Awards
Awards will be presented in the following ten categories:
Contact Dianne Adams with questions at (859) 514-9167 or dadams@amrms.com.
Mark Your Calendar - NASCIO will conduct an All-States Conference Call on Tuesday, March 30 at 3:00-4:00 pm ET (2-3 pm CT, 1-2 pm MT, Noon-1 pm PT) to explain changes to the awards program for 2010 and provide helpful hints. Bring your questions about the process - committee members and staff will be available to provide clarification and address any concerns.
Leading the Way to New OpportunITies at the 2010 Midyear Conference
The conference will be held April 28-30 at the Hyatt Regency in Baltimore, Maryland. Visit the conference website for more details and to view the detailed agenda. The early bird registration discounts have been extended through March 31. You can save $100 by registering before the end of the month. It's not too late to sponsor the Midyear Conference! The deadline to complete the sponsor registration form is March 31. Click here to learn more about sponsoring the conference. Visit the 2010 Midyear Conference Virtual Resource Center to view the latest research and thought leadership from the Midyear Conference Sponsors. Click here to download whitepapers, research briefs and other educational materials on an array of topics. The collection is searchable by keyword. Each person who accesses a whitepaper between March 1 and April 27 will have the opportunity to submit their name for the drawing to win an iPod™ nano (8GB). The winner will be announced at the conference. Joint CIO-Corporate Leadership Council (CLC) Briefing at the Midyear ConferenceNASCIO will host a joint CIO-CLC briefing at the Midyear Conference on Wednesday, April 28 from 4:30 - 6:00 pm. The featured speaker, Jennifer Duffy, Senior Editor with The Cook Political Report will discuss the 2010 gubernatorial elections. This briefing is open to all State and Corporate Members. Members In The News
CALIFORNIATeri Takai, California CIO, participated in the California CIO Academy Awards on February 23 Takai discussed IT Consolidation and the Governor's Executive Order in this YouTube videoDISTRICT OF COLUMBIABryan Sivak, District of Columbia CTO, used virtual operations and social media to maintain IT services during the winter storms
MASSACHUSETTSAnne Margulies, Massachusetts CIO, discussed how IT governance framework helps public agencies boost service and cut costs Under the leadership of Governor Patrick and Anne Margulies, Massachusetts consolidation of 183 data centers, 100 phone systems, 24 e-mail systems and 15 major data networks has been a success
MICHIGANKen Theis, Michigan CIO, said that sharing resources could help cut the cost of protecting sensitive government information Theis discussed the states new and improved website
VERMONTDavid Tucker, Vermont CIO, developed the state's open source software policy
WASHINGTONTony Tortorice, Washington CIO, discussed the state's new data centerNew MembersNASCIO would like to welcome Fujitsu Network Communications, L-1 Solutions and Zanett Commercial Solutions as new corporate members.NASCIO: Making ConnectionsNASCIO President and Utah CIO, Steve Fletcher and NASCIO Director of Government Affairs Pam Walker attended the NGA Winter Meeting, February 20-23 in Washington, DC. On February 23-24, Steve Fletcher, Utah CIO, Gopal Khanna, Minnesota CIO, Michael Locatis, Colorado CIO and NASCIO's Executive Director Doug Robinson attended the National Science Foundation (NSF) Grand Challenges Workshop on IT and Governance hosted by the Center for Technology in Government, University of Albany. Gopal Khanna and Doug Robinson serve the CTG Advisory Group for the Grand Challenges project funded by NSF. Several Executive Committee members gathered for a face-to-face meeting on Tuesday, March 16 from 2:00 - 5:00 pm in Sacramento, CA. The meeting agenda included workplan review and resources, transition planning, government affairs and strategic thinking about NASCIO priorities. Several Executive Committee members and other NASCIO members attended the Governing Managing Technology Conference in Sacramento, March 17-18. Mark Your CalendarUpcoming Committee Calls
Corporate Member Partner ProfilesEach month, NASCIO will randomly draw 3 corporate members to be featured in the monthly newsletter. To view a complete list of NASCIO's corporate partners, click here.Grant Thorton
IBM
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As state CIOs continue to deploy IT solutions, it is important to recognize the fiscal benefits of transforming the procurement process to meet the needs of a smaller workforce, budget constraints, and consolidation efforts. Because of current economic factors, the state CIO is faced with not only budget constraints for needed IT goods and services, but also advocating for procurement reform that meets the needs of the 21st century.
On Thursday February 18th, the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) program hosted a Town Hall in Washington, DC. The event challenged the NIEM Program Management Office (PMO) to bring together 100 fresh voices which included federal and state government executives, program managers, architects, implementers as well as industry representatives from across the country to discuss the challenges and future priorities of the NIEM program.
NASCIO is accepting nominations for the 2010 Recognition Awards for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Information Technology in state government through Wednesday, June 2, 2010. For complete details about submitting a nomination, please visit 
