From Transform Hawaii Government June, 2015

Aloha,

The confirmation of a new Chief Information Officer (CIO), Todd Nacapuy, brings with it a renewed emphasis on the message of "people, the process and then technology," while the close of the 2015 legislative session results in few bills related to the transformation.

The Transform Hawaii Government coalition is pleased to see a move toward increased transparency with the launch of the Aloha+ Challenge Dashboard, but recent news stories highlight the myriad other challenges ahead. Learn more in this month's newsletter below.

Mahalo,

Transform Hawaii Government

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THG Leadership Committee Meets with CIO Todd Nacapuy

Nacapuy committed to a “people first” philosophy

Just shy of three weeks on the job, newly appointed CIO Todd Nacapuy sat down with members of the Transform Hawaii Government Leadership Committee including Joy Barua, Lisa Wong, Lisa Maruyama, and Burt Lum. The casual talk story offered insight into Nacapuy’s management philosophy and current challenges facing the Office of Information Management and Technology (OIMT) as the transformation effort progresses in the highly critical implementation phase.

Nacapuy (pronounced “Na-ka-POI”) made it clear that hiring and retaining qualified state government IT staff is a top priority, noting the challenge of an aging workforce and lack of millennials. Citing a “people first” philosophy he stressed, “The transformation will not move forward without the right people in place. We must focus on people, the process and then technology.”

Earlier this year, Transform Hawaii Government identified staffing as a major challenge faced by the transformation initiative as many open positions remained vacant. The coalition agrees that recruiting is an important priority and is encouraged by our new CIO’s commitment and confidence in growing the state’s IT workforce.

The group also shared challenges and concerns with state government services ranging from the procurement process to SURF, the state's ERP program. The coalition and leadership committee look forward to maintaining an open line of communication with Nacapuy and touting the tangible results of the transformation as the refocused effort proceeds with a more targeted approach.

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A Look Back: 2015 Legislative Recap

In a legislative session primarily focused on resolving the state’s budget woes, bills relating to the transformation effort were few and far between. Transform Hawaii Government kept a close eye on the following proposed legislation, the majority of which were deferred and one that passed and is awaiting Governor Ige’s signature.

• HB500, the State Budget bill, includes $18.9 million and $19 million in General Funds for OIMT’s operating budgets in FY16 and FY17, respectively. Furthermore, the bill identifies a total of $38.68 million in additional budget requests submitted by individual departments for new technology initiatives over the two fiscal years, and directs the State CIO to strive for “commonality and efficiency of information technology systems” in the use of the funds, which come from a combination of general, special, federal and revolving fund sources. In doing so, lawmakers seem to be addressing the historically decentralized nature of budget requests, while acknowledging the value of the CIO to prioritize the available funding and identify economies of scale and other efficiencies.

  Update: Transmitted to Governor Ige on May 5 and currently under review.

• HB287 CD1 broadens the government records exception under the Uniform Information Practices Act to include personally identifiable information whose disclosure may result in harm, embarrassment, inconvenience, or unfairness.

  Update: Transmitted to Governor Ige for his signature on May 4. Final decision required by July 14.

• HB1054 would establish a pilot program to enable the House to receive live oral testimony from the County of Hawaii through audio or audiovisual technology.

  Result: Failed to cross over.

• SB1000 consolidates OIMT and the Information and Communication Services Division into the Office of the CIO within the Department of Accounting and General Services, strengthening the role of the CIO and potentially enabling enterprise-wide cost savings.

  Result: Deferred.

• HB651 repeals the State CIO, OIMT, and shared services technology special fund, and transfers remaining responsibilities of the State CIO to the comptroller.

  Result: Deferred.