NORTH DAKOTA LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
Minutes of the
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Harvest Room, State Capitol
Bismarck, North Dakota
Senator Larry J. Robinson, Chairman, called the
meeting to order at 9:00 a.m.
Members present: Senators Larry J. Robinson,
Randel Christmann, Rich Wardner; Representatives
Craig Headland, Robin Weisz; Chief Information
Officer Lisa Feldner
Members absent: Senators Richard Marcellais,
Tom Seymour; Representatives Keith Kempenich,
David Monson, Kenton Onstad, Mark S. Owens
Others present: Jim W. Smith, Legislative
Council, Bismarck
Representatives Merle Boucher and Bob Skarphol,
members of the Legislative Council, were also in
attendance.
See attached appendix for additional persons
present.
LEGISLATIVE INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY PROJECT REPORTING
Mr. Jim W. Smith, Director, Legislative Council,
reported on the status of the legislative applications
replacement system computer project. He said the
project’s Executive Steering Group met on June 4,
2008, and learned PTC Global Services, the project
vendor, missed a delivery date for one of the project’s
application bundles. At that time, he said, PTC Global
Services indicated the delivery of the application
bundle would be delayed approximately three months.
Mr. Smith said the Executive Steering Group met
on July 7, 2008, and learned PTC Global Services
changed its project manager and lead architect for the
project. At that time, he said, PTC Global Services
also indicated the new system would not be complete
for the 2009 Legislative Assembly.
Mr. Smith said the Legislative Council office
changed its project manager on August 6, 2008. He
said representatives of the Legislative Council office,
PTC Global Services, and the Information Technology
Department met on August 13, 2008, to review the
proposed new architecture for the project. He said
PTC Global Services is in the process of addressing
questions that arose from that meeting. At the
present time, he said, PTC Global Services
anticipates completing requirements gathering by the
end of October 2008 and functional specification
documents by the end of December 2008. He said
design and development of the system is anticipated
to follow in January through April 2009.
In response to a question from Senator Robinson,
Mr. Smith said the contract with PTC Global Services
is a fixed price contract; therefore, the project is not
anticipated to cost more than budgeted. He said
currently there is approximately $1.8 million remaining
to be paid PTC Global Services on the contract.
In response to a question from Senator
Christmann, Mr. Smith said the Legislative Council
office is currently purchasing project manager
services from the Information Technology
Department.
REPORT FROM THE CHIEF
INFORMATION OFFICER
Ms. Lisa Feldner, Chief Information Officer,
Information Technology Department, and
representatives of the Information Technology
Department provided:
• A report on the recommendations of the State
Information Technology Advisory Committee
regarding major software projects for
consideration pursuant to North Dakota Century
Code (NDCC) Section 54-59-02.1.
• A report on the Statewide Longitudinal Data
System Committee’s plan for a longitudinal data
system.
• Information regarding best practices in
information technology contracts.
• Recommended information technology statutory
changes.
A copy of the information presented is on file in the
Legislative Council office.
Major Information Technology
Project Prioritization
Mr. Jeff Swank, Information Technology
Department, said state agencies were responsible for
prioritizing information technology projects for the
2009-11 biennium and submitting their information
technology budgets into the budget analysis and
reporting system (BARS) by July 15, 2008. He said
the State Information Technology Advisory Committee
reviewed information regarding proposed major
information technology projects for executive branch
state agencies, excluding institutions under the control
of the State Board of Higher Education and the judicial
and legislative branches, and ranked those projects in
groups by funding source on August 24 and 25, 2008.
Information Technology 2 August 27, 2008
Mr. Swank presented the following prioritization of
general fund projects:
Preliminary
Project Budget
Project Agency
General
Fund
Total
Funds
1 Statewide
seamless base
map
Adjutant
General
$2,100,000 $2,100,000
2 Computer-aided
dispatch – Phase
2
Adjutant
General
2,000,000 2,000,000
3 Additional State
Radio towers
Adjutant
General
7,200,000 7,200,000
4 Longitudinal data
system
Information
Technology
Department
6,085,270 6,085,270
5 Eligibility
determination
system
replacement
Department of
Human
Services
9,250,000 18,500,000
6 North Dakota
business
development
engine
Secretary of
State
3,400,698 3,400,698
6 Elementary and
secondary
education
PowerSchool
hosting
Information
Technology
Department
3,180,000 3,180,000
8 Taxpayer access
program/financial
institution tax
Tax
Department
1,250,000 1,250,000
9 Criminal Justice
Information
Sharing (CJIS)
Initiative project
pool
Information
Technology
Department
1,027,535 1,327,535
10 Oil and gas
taxes – GenTax
integration
Tax
Department
1,500,000 1,500,000
11 Business
intelligence and
data warehouse
Office of
Management
and Budget
500,000 500,000
12 Data center
remodel
Information
Technology
Department
1,635,000 1,635,000
13 Integrate offender
management
systems
Department of
Corrections
and
Rehabilitation
3,000,000 3,000,000
Total $42,128,503 $51,678,503
Mr. Swank presented the following prioritization of
special funds projects:
Project Agency
Preliminary
Project
Budget
1 Student loan lender
system
Bank of North Dakota $3,500,000
2 Lab information
management system
replacement
Attorney General’s
office
700,000
3 Driver’s license system
replacement
Department of
Transportation
15,000,000
4 System web portal Workforce Safety and
Insurance
1,500,000
5 Enterprise e-mail
retention
Information Technology
Department
1,065,000
6 FileNet – Phase 2 Workforce Safety and
Insurance
950,000
7 Claims scanning Workforce Safety and
Insurance
350,000
Total $23,065,000
Mr. Swank presented the following prioritization of
federal fund projects:
Project Agency
Preliminary
Project
Budget
1 Offender checking Attorney General’s office $731,328
2 Longitudinal data
system
Department of Public
Instruction
5,000,000
3 Asset management
analysis
Department of
Transportation
503,000
Total $6,234,328
Mr. Swank said the Information Technology
Department will forward the prioritization to the Office
of Management and Budget for consideration in the
development of the Governor’s budget
recommendation.
In response to a question from Senator
Christmann, Mr. Swank said the project budgets are
preliminary. He said several agencies are in the
process of finalizing their budget requests for the
2009-11 biennium.
Statewide Longitudinal Data System
Ms. Feldner said the Statewide Longitudinal Data
System Committee awarded a contract to Claraview
for assistance with a plan for a statewide longitudinal
data system. She said Claraview provided a plan and
budget for implementing a longitudinal data system in
June 2008. She said Claraview identified the
following themes regarding a proposed statewide
longitudinal data system:
• There is strong support across state agencies
to share key information and leverage the
benefits of longitudinal data analysis that a
statewide longitudinal data system can provide.
• There are data quality challenges surrounding
the implementation of a statewide longitudinal
data system that must be solved to achieve a
successful project.
• Opportunities exist for each state agency to
enhance its data warehousing and data
analytics capabilities.
Ms. Feldner said Claraview identified the following
policy challenges to be considered in designing and
selecting an approach to a statewide longitudinal data
system:
• A process for maintaining the state ID in a
student’s postsecondary records for a former
North Dakota kindergarten through grade 12
student transitioning to higher education.
• The North Dakota University System needs to
adopt a process for enrolling or registering
Information Technology 3 August 27, 2008
workforce training program students in the
ConnectND system upon their participation in
University System workforce training programs.
• The statewide longitudinal data system needs
to be compliant with federal privacy laws and
should meet the Data Quality Campaign’s
10 essential elements and fundamentals for
P-12 longitudinal data systems.
Ms. Feldner said Claraview identified the following
recommendations:
Data
warehousing
capabilities
Implement a statewide longitudinal data
warehouse.
Implement a kindergarten through grade 12 data
warehouse.
Implement agency-specific data warehouses.
Allow continued Viewpoint–kindergarten through
grade 12 data warehousing system–rollout
among school districts.
Define a data integration strategy.
Reporting Relocate and reconfigure FINDET.
Select a business intelligence reporting tool.
Business
process
reengineering
Implement an Education and Workforce Council.
Implement formal data quality processes.
Operational
support
Roll out the PowerSchool application to all
kindergarten through grade 12 schools.
Educate users to develop data analysts.
Data
governance
Align student identifiers.
Implement agency-based data governance
councils.
Establish and enforce longitudinal data
systemwide data standards.
Mitigate interagency data sharing issues.
Implement a master client index solution.
Roadmap
implementation
Develop an action memorandum.
Ms. Feldner said the Statewide Longitudinal Data
System Committee has approved the
recommendations and is working on developing an
implementation plan and budget for the project.
In response to a question from Senator Robinson,
Ms. Feldner said the Information Technology
Department will be requesting $6 million from the
general fund for the 2009-11 biennium for beginning
the implementation of a statewide longitudinal data
system.
Information Technology
Contracts Best Practices
Mr. Pat Forster, Information Technology
Department, said information technology contract
risks are in the areas of cost, scope management,
schedule performance, and technology. In regard to
scope management, he said, an information
technology project should have a statement of work,
including clearly defined deliverables, and a project
management plan, including information regarding
scope, schedule, quality, budget, and
communications. In regard to schedule performance,
he said, payments to vendors should be based on
deliverables and milestones and a certain percentage
of the budget should be retained or held back until the
project is completed.
In response to a question from Senator
Christmann, Mr. Forster said state agencies are
including liquidated damages provisions in more
information technology contracts. He said it is
important to include liquidated damages provisions in
contracts for projects with strict timelines. He said
liquidated damages provisions must be negotiated
with the vendor, which may be difficult.
In response to a question from Representative
Skarphol, Mr. Forster said the Attorney General’s
office and the Office of Management and Budget have
established guidelines for information technology
contracts.
Recommended Information Technology
Statutory Changes
Ms. Feldner said the CJIS Board is considering a
statutory change to increase the membership on the
board. She said the Attorney General’s office is
working on drafting the legislation.
HIGHER EDUCATION INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVES
Mr. Rich Lehn, Assistant to the Chief Information
Officer, North Dakota University System, provided
information regarding the quarterly summary status
report on large information technology projects,
including a project closeout report for the campus
solutions upgrade project and a project startup report
for the Northern Tier Network project. A copy of the
information presented is on file in the Legislative
Council office.
For the period ending June 30, 2008, Mr. Lehn
said University System major projects included the
TouchNet project and a campus solutions upgrade.
Mr. Lehn said the purpose of the TouchNet project
is to implement software modules that will allow all
campuses to begin accepting online credit card
payments with payments processed through a
payment card industry-compliant vendor. He said the
project will eliminate any card information being
retained by campuses and will eliminate compliance
requirements and related risks. As of June 30, 2008,
he said, Phases 1, 2, and 3 were completed on
budget and with a two-week delay due to problems in
Phase 1 related to a multicampus environment. He
said Phase 4 of the project is underway. He said
Valley City State University, Bismarck State College,
and Minot State University began using the system for
the fall 2008 semester, and the remaining institutions
will begin using the system for the spring 2009
semester.
Mr. Lehn said the campus solutions upgrade
project includes the upgrade of the ConnectND
student administration system from Version 8 to new
PeopleSoft campus solutions Version 9, the changing
of the database from Microsoft SQL to Oracle, and the
Information Technology 4 August 27, 2008
implementation of the user productivity kit. He said
the project was completed on schedule and under
budget with actual expenditures of $1,136,226,
compared to estimated expenditures of $1,350,000.
Mr. Lehn said the Northern Tier Network is an
advanced network project serving the
cyberinfrastucture needs of institutions within the
North Dakota University System and its public and
private sector partners. He said the estimated cost for
the project is $6 million of one-time costs for
implementing the network and $1 million of annual
recurring costs for maintenance of the network.
In response to a question from Senator
Christmann, Ms. Bonnie Neas, Vice President for
Information Technology, North Dakota State
University, said the 2007 Legislative Assembly
provided the University System one-time funding of
$3,773,000 from the permanent oil tax trust fund for
costs associated with implementing the Northern Tier
Network. She said the University System also
received a federal grant for one-time costs associated
with the project. She said the University System
anticipates approximately $1 million of the funding
from the permanent oil tax trust fund will be carried
forward to fiscal year 2010 and will be used to pay for
annual maintenance costs.
In response to a question from Senator
Christmann, Ms. Neas said STAGEnet delivers
Internet2 to kindergarten through grade 12.
In response to a question from Senator
Christmann, Ms. Neas said NDCC Section 15-10-45
provides that the University System may use the
Northern Tier Network infrastructure only for the
purpose of supporting the research and education
missions of the University System. She said the
University System may not use the Northern Tier
Network infrastructure for traditional Internet, voice,
video, or other telecommunications services beyond
those required for research networks.
In response to a question from Senator
Christmann, Ms. Neas said the provisions of NDCC
Section 15-10-45 prohibit the University System from
utilizing commercial peering services offered through
Internet2.
Senator Christmann requested the University
System provide the committee with a written definition
of the activities prohibited by NDCC Section 15-10-45.
Ms. Neas provided a status report on the Northern
Tier Network project. She said the Northern Tier
Network is an ultra high-speed regional network with
multiple optical waves capable of transferring about
10 gigabytes of information per second per wave.
She said the network supports the research and
education mission of its members. She said each
Northern Tier Network state is responsible for the
development and ongoing support of its segment of
the network.
Ms. Neas said planning is underway for the north
and south segment of North Dakota’s share of the
Northern Tier Network. She said the University
System will be requesting state funds of $1 million per
year beginning with the second year of the 2009-11
biennium to sustain the state’s segments of the
network. She said the University of North Dakota and
North Dakota State University will pay for the ongoing
costs of their respective campus network upgrades.
She said the University System will also be seeking
support to clarify and reduce the legislative
requirements placed on the Northern Tier Network
and the University System by the 2007 Legislative
Assembly. She said the University System is
attempting to work with the in-state
telecommunications carriers to come to an agreeable
solution. A copy of the information presented is on file
in the Legislative Council office.
Ms. Laura Glatt, Vice Chancellor for Administrative
Affairs, North Dakota University System, provided
information regarding University System information
technology-related budget request items for the
2009-11 biennium. She said the following is a
summary of specific information technology-related
budget request items for the 2009-11 biennium
beyond regular parity or cost to continue funding
requests:
Base funding
Current bandwidth services – For the
2007-09 biennium, $420,000 of system
information technology services parity cost
was funded as one-time funding instead of
base funding. The one-time funding was
used to cover the costs of current
bandwidth during the 2007-09 biennium.
Bandwidth demands are not anticipated to
decrease in the 2009-11 biennium;
therefore, base funding is needed to
sustain current bandwidth services.
$420,000
Future bandwidth services – Funding to
cover increased bandwidth needs based on
projected traffic growth of 50 percent.
800,000
ODIN web developer – A new position to
enhance and ease the use of the library
system.
150,000
Northern Tier Network maintenance –
Funding to cover annual maintenance costs
for the Northern Tier Network for the
second year of the 2009-11 biennium.
Maintenance costs for the first year of the
biennium will be covered with carryover
funding from the 2007-09 biennium.
1,000,000
FINDET – Staff and related costs to
continue support of the two full-time
equivalent positions that provide
information on graduates and student
performance. This level of funding will also
provide 100 percent of the support for this
activity in the University System office
budget.
155,320
Subtotal – Base funding $2,525,320
One-time funding
Interactive Video Network (IVN) CODEC
replacement – The videoconference
technology in IVN classrooms needs to be
upgraded to allow for high-definition
videoconferencing.
$350,000
Information Technology 5 August 27, 2008
CIS collaboration and emergency pool –
Funding to be allocated by the University
System chief information officer in support
of technology and tools that foster more
effective and efficient delivery of central
information technology services and to
address unforeseen needs not anticipated
in the budget process.
200,000
Joint North Dakota University System and
University of North Dakota information
technology facility – Funding for a facility to
jointly house University System information
technology service operations and
University of North Dakota information
technology systems and services.
11,200,000
Subtotal – One-time funding $11,750,000
Grand total $14,275,320
A copy of the information presented is on file in the
Legislative Council office.
The committee recessed for lunch at 11:30 a.m.
and traveled to St. Alexius Medical Center, 900 East
Broadway Avenue, Bismarck. The committee
reconvened at 12:30 p.m.
OTHER BUSINESS
Ms. Nancy Willis, Vice President Government
Relations and Marketing, St. Alexius Medical Center,
welcomed the committee to the medical center.
Ms. Lynette Dickson, Program Director, Center for
Rural Health, University of North Dakota School of
Medicine and Health Sciences, provided an overview
of the North Dakota Health Information Technology
Steering Committee. She said the North Dakota
Health Information Technology Steering Committee
was established in 2006. She said Senate Bill
No. 2303 was introduced during the 2007 legislative
session to formalize the committee in statute and
establish a health information technology grant
program. She said the bill was defeated but an
amendment to 2007 House Bill No. 1021 did establish
the committee in North Dakota Century Code. She
said the mission of the committee is to facilitate the
adoption and use of health information technology and
exchange to improve health care quality, patient
safety, and overall efficiency of health care and public
health services in North Dakota. She said the
committee is in the process of completing a health
information technology survey of the state’s medical
facilities and developing a statewide health
information technology report. She said the
committee is also developing a request for
consideration by the 2009 Legislative Assembly. A
copy of the information presented is on file in the
Legislative Council office.
In response to a question from Senator Robinson,
Ms. Dickson said the steering committee will be able
to provide the committee with more information
regarding the statewide health information technology
report at the committee’s next meeting.
Mr. Todd Bortke, St. Alexius Medical Center,
provided information regarding the medical center’s
electronic medical records system, including a
demonstration of the system. He said the medical
center had to address several challenges when
implementing an electronic medical records system,
including multiple organizations, different chart
numbers, security, and many originating systems. He
said the medical center decided to develop an inhouse
system–MedAssist. He said the system
includes information such as laboratory reports,
radiology reports, medications, immunizations,
allergies, diagnostic tests, and digital pictures. A copy
of the information presented is on file in the
Legislative Council office.
In response to a question from Senator Robinson,
Mr. Bortke said St. Alexius Medical Center has two
full-time equivalent positions and one contract
employee working on developing and enhancing the
MedAssist system.
The committee recessed at 1:30 p.m., returned to
the Harvest Room, State Capitol, and reconvened at
1:50 p.m.
HIGHER EDUCATION INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVES
Dr. Richard McCallum, President, Dickinson State
University, provided information regarding the
university’s Theodore Roosevelt Center, including
information on the digitization program with the Library
of Congress and related information technology
needs. He said the university received a $150,000
general fund appropriation for the 2007-09 biennium
for costs associated with establishing a Theodore
Roosevelt Center. He said the university is using the
funding for establishing and implementing a
digitization program with the Library of Congress. He
said the university will receive 600,000 documents in
digital form from the Library of Congress. He said the
university’s mission is to electronically present the
historical documents. A copy of the information
presented is on file in the Legislative Council office.
Ms. Feldner provided comments regarding
Dickinson State University’s information technology
needs relating to the university’s Theodore Roosevelt
Center. She said the Information Technology
Department will be hosting the data files for the
university. She said the task for the university will be
to analyze and index each file. She said the
department and the university are working with the
local telecommunications carriers to connect the
university to the Northern Tier Network.
INFORMATION SYSTEM AUDIT
Mr. Donald LaFleur, Audit Manager, Information
Systems Audit Section, State Auditor’s office,
presented the information system audit of the
Information Technology Department for the year
ended December 31, 2007. He said the audit report is
intended to provide interested parties with information
sufficient to understand the general controls of the
Information Technology Department. He said the
Information Technology 6 August 27, 2008
audit report contains the following three
recommendations:
• The Information Technology Department has
not tested the disaster recovery plan.
• The Information Technology Department lacks
a formal security plan.
• The Information Technology Department lacks
a formal risk assessment framework.
A copy of the audit report is on file in the
Legislative Council office.
LARGE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
PROJECT REPORTING
Mr. Mark Molesworth, Enterprise Project Manager,
Information Technology Department, provided
information regarding the quarterly summary status
report on large information technology projects. For
the period ending June 30, 2008, he said, the
following eight projects were reported in the planning
stage:
Agency Project
Secretary of State Data processing system
Department of Human Services Electronic benefits transfer
reprocurement
State Department of Health Disease surveillance and
management system
Department of Public Instruction Direct certification
Information Technology
Department
Statewide automated victim
information notification system
CJIS Initiative portal
Adjutant General – Department of
Emergency Services
Computer-aided dispatch
Office of Management and Budget ConnectND system – Absence
management
Mr. Molesworth said the following four projects
were moved into the execution phase:
Agency Project
Department of Human Services Continuous eligibility
Master client index
Department of Public Instruction Foundation aid system rewrite
Teacher licensure application
rewrite
Mr. Molesworth said the following three projects
were reported complete:
Agency Project
Budget
Variance
Schedule
Variance
Department of
Human Services
Medicaid enterprise
management and
administration
reporting system
Within
variance
Over
variance
Attorney General Automated
fingerprint
identification system
upgrade
Within
variance
Over
variance
Secretary of State Central voter file Under
budget
Over
variance
Mr. Molesworth said the following four projects
have reported budget or schedule variances and are
being monitored closely:
Agency Project Budget or Schedule Variance
Department of
Human
Services
Medicaid
management
information
system
replacement
project
The Information Technology
Department is monitoring this
project closely because the project
has not been able to produce an
integrated schedule. Without the
integrated schedule, the
department is unable to verify any
project schedule variance.
Job Service
North Dakota
Case
management
system
The project was rolled out on
schedule; however, the agency is
trying to get full functionality from
the system. The agency has
extended the project schedule to
leverage holdback funds.
Legislative
Assembly
Legislative
applications
replacement
system
The project has experienced
critical schedule delays and will not
be complete prior to the next
legislative session.
Information
Technology
Department
CJIS Initiative
portal
The project was out of compliance
because execution was entered
without a project plan on file with
the Information Technology
Department. A project plan has
now been filed, and the project is
proceeding.
A copy of the information presented is on file in the
Legislative Council office.
Department of Human Services
Ms. Jennifer Witham, Director, Information
Technology Services, Department of Human Services,
provided:
• Information regarding the status of the Medicaid
management information system replacement
project.
• A project startup report for the department’s
electronic benefits transfer project.
• A project closeout report for the department’s
Medicaid enterprise management and
administrative reporting system project.
Ms. Witham said the Medicaid management
information system replacement project’s overall
status is currently in the yellow category. She said
this status reflects that the Department of Human
Services is negotiating with ACS State Healthcare,
LLC (ACS), the project vendor, regarding revisions to
the project schedule. She said scheduled
negotiations with ACS are focused on the postdesign
phases of the project, including the estimation of the
implementation work effort to finalize system
configuration, data conversion, training, and system
and user acceptance testing. She said all of these
functions are highly dependent on the timely delivery
of the ACS product with North Dakota requirements.
She said the following is a summary of project
expenditures through July 2008:
Project
Budget Expenditures
Budget
Remaining
General fund $3,643,133 $982,214 $2,660,919
Federal funds 55,218,418 15,329,298 39,889,120
Other funds 3,667,820 1,007,597 2,660,223
Total $62,529,371 $17,319,109 $45,210,262
Information Technology 7 August 27, 2008
A copy of the information presented is on file in the
Legislative Council office.
In response to a question from Representative
Skarphol, Ms. Witham said the Medicaid management
information system replacement project is
approximately six weeks behind schedule.
In response to a question from Senator Robinson,
Ms. Witham said the project team is in the process of
detailed system design. She said this work effort is
scheduled to be completed by mid-January 2009.
Ms. Witham said the department must reprocure a
vendor to provide electronic benefits transfer of food
stamp benefits because the current contract with
JP Morgan expires June 30, 2009. She said this
project started on August 1, 2008, and is estimated to
be completed in September 2009. She said the
project’s estimated cost is $320,000, including costs
associated with training, temporary staff, and project
management.
Ms. Witham said the department’s Medicaid
enterprise management and administrative reporting
system project consisted of the implementation of
ACS’s enterprise management and administrative
reporting system to provide Medicaid utilization and
budget forecasting reports over the legacy claims.
She said the project was completed slightly over
budget with actual expenditures of $374,642
compared to a project budget of $337,114. She said
the project was completed in April 2008 approximately
two months after the original scheduled completion
date of February 2008.
Information Technology Department –
Criminal Justice Information
Sharing Initiative Portal Project
Ms. Pam Schafer, Director, CJIS Initiative,
Information Technology Department, provided a
project startup report for the department’s CJIS
2.0 portal project. She said the CJIS portal is a webbased
application that provides criminal justice
personnel access to view records from across
organizational boundaries. She said the portal uses
modern integration technology to transfer detailed
record information from the Attorney General’s office,
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, judicial
branch, Department of Transportation, and
participating local law enforcement. She said the
CJIS 2.0 portal project modifies the existing portal to
provide that the addition of new record types is
accomplished by configuration rather than through
development. She said the project is estimated to
cost $280,000 and is estimated to be completed in
January 2009. A copy of the information presented is
on file in the Legislative Council office.
Secretary of State
Mr. Alvin A. Jaeger, Secretary of State, provided:
• A project closeout report for the agency’s
central voter file project.
• Information regarding the agency’s data
processing system project.
Mr. Jaeger said the agency’s central voter file
project completed the agency’s election improvement
program by tying together the uniform election system
and the election management system under the
umbrella of the PowerProfile EE. He said the project
provides the state and all 53 counties a uniform and
single administration tool to more efficiently and
effectively manage elections. He said the project was
completed in May 2008, nine months later than the
original project scheduled completion date of
August 2007. He said the project was completed
under budget with actual expenditures of $1,255,692,
compared to estimated expenditures of $1,523,574.
Mr. Jaeger said the agency discontinued its
knowledge base/central indexing system project on
February 15, 2008, because the application source
code was dysfunctional. Due to the importance,
critical need, and public demand for enhanced
services, he said, the agency began work on a new
plan for enhancing the agency’s central indexing
system functions. He said the agency issued a
request for proposal to four interested vendors on
May 16, 2008, for a commercial off-the-shelf data
processing system to replace the current central
indexing system. He said proposals were due in
June 2008, and the agency has signed a contract with
one of the vendors. He said the project is anticipated
to be completed within one year. He said the
estimated cost of the project is $600,000, and the
agency has available funding within its current
2007-09 legislative appropriation for the project. He
said the project will, however, require licensing fees of
$750,000 for the 2009-11 biennium.
Office of Management and Budget –
Absence Management Project
Mr. Toby Mertz, Office of Management and
Budget, provided a project startup report for the
agency’s absence management project. He said the
purpose of the project is to implement Oracle’s
PeopleSoft absence management module for selected
pilot state agencies. He said the module will provide
state agencies with an online, self-service absence
request and management application. He said the
estimated cost of the project is $551,000, and the
project is anticipated to be completed by
November 2008. A copy of the information presented
is on file in the Legislative Council office.
In response to a question from Representative
Skarphol, Mr. Mertz said the pilot state agencies are
the Tax Department, Bank of North Dakota, Public
Employees Retirement System, Workforce Safety and
Insurance, Office of Management and Budget, and
Supreme Court.
Department of Human Services
Mr. Mike Schwindt, Director, Child Support
Enforcement Program, Department of Human
Services, provided information regarding the
Information Technology 8 August 27, 2008
department’s child support enforcement program
awards. He said the department recently received the
National Child Support Enforcement Association’s
(NCSEA’s) 2008 Outstanding Program Award and he
was awarded NCSEA’s 2008 Outstanding Manager
Award. He said individuals employed by the program
have consistently received awards from the North
Dakota Family Support Conference. In 2007, he said,
the department’s Parental Responsibility Initiative in
the Development of Employment (PRIDE) program
was recognized by the Council of State Governments
with its Innovations Award. In 2006, he said, the
department’s program received the Outstanding State
Program Award from the Western Interstate Child
Support Enforcement Council, which includes all
states west of the Mississippi River. A copy of the
information presented is on file in the Legislative
Council office.
State Department of Health – Disease
Surveillance Management System Project
Mr. Kirby Kruger, State Department of Health,
provided a project startup report for the department’s
disease surveillance management system project. He
said the department must have an electronic disease
surveillance system and outbreak management
system to conform to federal standards. He said the
department contracted with a vendor to develop a
web-based electronic disease surveillance and
management system in 2003. Since that time, he
said, the needs of the department as well as federal
standards have continued to evolve and the vendor
originally selected is no longer able to support the
current version of its software and to meet the needs
of the department. Therefore, he said, the department
began reviewing other alternatives. He said the
department has decided to implement a flexible and
configurable, commercial off-the-shelf electronic
disease surveillance and outbreak management
system. He said the project began in July 2008 and is
estimated to be completed in March 2009. He said
the estimated cost of the project is $550,000. A copy
of the information presented is on file in the
Legislative Council office.
In response to a question from Representative
Weisz, Mr. Kruger said the vendor of the commercial
off-the-shelf system has indicated that its product will
be upgraded in the future to remain compliant with
new federal regulations.
In response to a question from Representative
Weisz, Mr. Kruger said the new system’s maintenance
agreement will cost approximately $100,000 per year.
Attorney General’s Office – Automated
Fingerprint Identification System Upgrade
Ms. Judy Volk, Attorney General’s office,
presented a project closeout report for the agency’s
automated fingerprint identification system upgrade.
She said the Bureau of Criminal Investigation is a
partner in the Midwest Automated Fingerprint
Identification Network with the Minnesota Bureau of
Criminal Apprehension and South Dakota Division of
Criminal Investigation. She said fingerprint records
are currently processed and stored on an automated
fingerprint identification system managed by the
Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. She
said the equipment had reached the end of its useful
life and storage for fingerprints was at capacity;
therefore, this project upgraded the equipment and
software of the system. She said the project was
completed in June 2008, six months after the
scheduled completion date of December 2007. She
said the project was completed over budget with
actual expenditures of $394,825, compared to the
estimated cost of $385,025. A copy of the information
presented is on file in the Legislative Council office.
OTHER
No further business appearing, Chairman
Robinson adjourned the meeting at 3:32 p.m.
___________________________________________
Roxanne Woeste
Assistant Legislative Budget Analyst and Auditor
___________________________________________
Allen H. Knudson
Legislative Budget Analyst and Auditor
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