(a) The General Assembly finds that:

(1) As Georgia's state government seeks to provide improved service at a lower cost to its citizens and technology continues to play an increased role in service delivery, the pace of change for state agencies, boards, authorities, and commissions will continue to increase;

(2) Programs that involve significant expenditures or major changes for large numbers of Georgia residents should each be backed by a strong business case at its launch;

(3) Research has consistently shown that projects with effective change management programs are significantly more likely to be successful than projects with little or no change management programs and are significantly more likely to come in on time and on or under budget; and

(4) Leading private businesses have grown and regularly utilize change management services to ensure that technological, organizational, and other changes are effectively implemented.

(b) (1) All state agencies, boards, authorities, and commissions of the executive branch of state government shall provide a written business case for every information technology project that exceeds $1 million in value. Such business case shall include at a minimum:

(A) A description of the business need for the project;

(B) A budget for the project;

(C) An estimate of its operational impacts;

(D) A scan of available options to meet the business need;

(E) An outline of the benefits of a successful implementation to the citizens of Georgia and an outline with time frames of anticipated benefits;

(F) An analysis of the risks of not acting and how the proposed solutions will mitigate those risks; and

(G) An assessment of business process improvement, the need for process improvement, and corresponding change management.

(2) Written business cases for covered projects shall be provided to the Georgia Technology Authority at least 30 days prior to the request of any state funds or the issuance of any procurement documents for the project. The Georgia Technology Authority shall consult with the Department of Administrative Services and report to the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget on findings and recommendations.

(c)

(1) All state agencies, boards, authorities, and commissions of the executive branch of state government shall provide for a change management plan and resources necessary for plan execution for projects that exceed $1 million in value, projects that directly involve two or more state agencies, or service delivery changes in existing programs that significantly change existing business processes.

(2) A change management plan and execution shall, at a minimum, incorporate:

(A) A stakeholder analysis covering all impacted parties, including impacted groups, number of stakeholders impacted, type and degree of impact, and like areas and degree of resistance;

(B) A change risk assessment;

(C) Primary sponsors for the change program;

(D) A change management program approach; and

(E) A change management work plan for communication, coaching, training, sponsorship, and resistance management.

(3) It is the intent of the General Assembly that agencies shall seek best practices with private or public sector experts when appropriate to develop and implement change management plans. Change management consulting may be independent of project implementation.

(4) Written change management plans for covered projects shall be delivered to the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget and the Georgia Technology Authority.