Approved:       March 26, 2007          

Date

MINUTES OF THE HOUSE GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY AND TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE

The meeting was called to order by Chairman Jim Morrison at 3:30 P.M. on March 22, 2007, in Room 526-S of the Capitol.

The following members were absent: Representatives Tafanelli, King, Siegfreid, McLachlan, Wilk, Sloan, Loganbill, and Swenson, all of whom were excused.

Committee staff present:

Mary Galligan, Kansas Legislative Research

Tatiana Lin, Kansas Legislative Research

Renae Jefferies, Office of Revisor of Statutes

Gary Deeter, Committee Assistant

Conferees appearing before the committee: None.

Others attending:

See attached list.

The Chair commended the sub-committee for its work.

Representative McLeland, Chair of the Sub-committee, responded by commending the Sub-committee members and the staff for their excellent work; he then reviewed the Sub-committee report, saying the Sub-committee’s charge was to determine the frequency and content of reports that the Committee should receive from the Kansas Board of Regents and the community colleges in regard to sharing information technology resources (Attachment 1). He stated that the Sub-committee, meeting on three occasions, focused only on the institutions under the governing authority of the Regents, not the community colleges and other entities for whom the Board had only oversight responsibilities.

Representative McLeland stated that the Sub-committee recommends two projects to be considered by the Committee: a simple information-sharing procedure to provide the public with substantive information about committees and councils related to the Regents, and a pilot project exploring alternative purchasing processes for the universities.

Regarding the former, Representative McLeland said the Sub-committee examined present cooperation among the universities–the councils and committees that meet regularly, recommending that information on such events be collated with hot links to enable simple, quick access to deliberations, decisions, and minutes of the various groups. He noted that presently the Regents have no web developer to implement such a recommendation, that the Regents have regularly requested such a position, and that the Senate but not the House included a new Regents FTE (full-time equivalent) in the FY 2008 appropriations bill.

Regarding the second recommendation, in order to advance cross-institution cooperation, Representative McLeland said the Sub-committee, working with Brad Williams, Chief Information Officer for the Board of Regents, agreed to monitor a pilot project between the University of Kansas and Fort Hays State University for alternative purchasing procedures, a project beginning on June 1, 2007, and continuing to June 30, 2010.

Answering questions, Representative McLeland said an interim committee would be an appropriate way for the Committee to monitor the pilot project. He replied that an intact Government Efficiency and Technology Committee would function better in dealing with Regents issues than creating a joint committee.

The Chair concurred in recommending that the Committee remain intact for any interim work, noting that the Regents and other agencies could work with the Committee to develop mechanisms for efficiency that could be shared with the 2008 session of the legislature. He suggested that members convey to him any other ideas for interim study. He noted that considering HB 2175 (school districts; centrally-maintained accounting and reporting systems), recently referred to the Committee, will require more time than is available during the current session.

Representative McLeland noted that, after hearing the feasibility study by Calence regarding KAN-Ed, further consideration by the Committee would be appropriate, further commenting that Brad Williams had recently been appointed as Executive Director of KAN-Ed, a position he will hold concurrently with his position as Chief Information Officer of the Regents.

A motion was made, seconded, and passed to adopt the Sub-committee report. (Motion, Representative McLeland; second, Representative Frownfelter)

The Chair announced that the minutes for March 12 and March 13 would be approved as distributed if no corrections were provided by 5:00 p.m. Friday, March 23, 2007.

The meeting was adjourned at 4:00 p.m. No further meetings were scheduled.