13.58 Joint committee on information policy and technology.

(1) Creation. There is created a joint standing committee on information policy and technology composed of 3 majority party and 2 minority party senators and 3 majority and 2 minority party representatives to the assembly, appointed as are the members of standing committees in their respective houses.

(2) Officers. In making appointments of the members of each house, each house shall designate a cochairperson.

(3) Staff. The committee shall be staffed as are other standing committees of the legislature.

(4) Meetings. The committee shall meet as often as necessary to perform its duties and functions.

(5) Powers and duties.

(a) The committee shall do all of the following:

1. Review information management and technology systems, plans, practices and policies of state and local units of government, including their responsiveness to the needs of state and local units of government for delivery of high-quality services on an efficient, effective and economical basis, their data security and integrity, their protection of the personal privacy of individuals who are subjects of databases of state and local governmental agencies and their provision of access to public records under s. 19.35 (1).

2. Review the effects on the needs identified under subd. 1. of proposals for the expansion of existing information technology and the implementation of new information technology by the state.

3. Review the impact of proposed legislation on existing technology utilization by state and local units of government.

5. Upon receipt of strategic plans from the department of administration, the joint committee on legislative organization and the director of state courts, review and transmit comments concerning the plans to the entities submitting the plans.

(b) The committee may do any of the following:

1. Direct the department of administration to conduct studies or prepare reports on items related to the committee's duties under par. (a).

2. Make recommendations to the governor, the legislature, state agencies or local units of government regarding the policies, practices, proposals, legislation and reports reviewed under subd. 1. and par. (a).

3. Direct the board of regents of the University of Wisconsin System to prepare and submit to the committee such reports as the committee requests pursuant to the committee's responsibilities under par. (a).

4. With the concurrence of the joint committee on finance, direct the department of administration to report semiannually to the committee and the joint committee on finance concerning any specific information technology system project which is being designed, developed, tested or implemented and which the committees anticipate will have a total cost to the state exceeding $1,000,000 in the current or any succeeding fiscal biennium. The report shall include all of the following:

a. The major stages and substages of the project, including an assessment of need, design, implementation and testing stages and their major substages.

b. The scheduled, estimated and actual completion dates for each major stage and substage of the project.

c. The budgeted amounts and amounts actually expended on each major stage and substage of the project.

d. An evaluation of the project, including any problems encountered or risks associated with proceeding to the next stage of the project, if any.

6. Review any University of Wisconsin System, institution, or college campus information technology project identified in a report submitted to the committee by the Board of Regents under s. 36.59 (7) to determine whether the project should be continued or implemented. The committee may forward any recommendations regarding the project to the governor and to the legislature under s. 13.172 (2).

History: 1991 a. 317; 1995 a. 27; 1997 a. 27; 1999 a. 29, 185; 2001 a. 16; 2003 a. 33; 2007 a. 20.