Chapter
437
2007 -- S 0323
Enacted 07/06/07
A N A C T
RELATING
TO LIBRARIES -- THE RHODE ISLAND INFORMATION RESOURCES MANAGEMENT BOARD
Introduced
By: Senators Blais, and Breene
Date
Introduced: February 07, 2007
It is enacted by the General Assembly as
follows:
SECTION 1. Chapter
29-8 of the General Laws entitled "The Rhode Island Information
Resources Management Board" is hereby
repealed in its entirety.
CHAPTER
29-8
The Rhode Island
Information Resources Management Board
29-8-1.
Legislative findings -- Policy. -- (1) Information and
information resources
residing in the various executive branch
agencies of state government are strategic assets
belonging to the people of Rhode Island that must
be managed as valuable state resources;
(2)
Technological and theoretical advances in information use are recent in origin,
immense in scope and complexity, and change at a
rapid rate which present Rhode Island with the
opportunity to provide higher quality, more
timely, and more cost effective government services
to ensure standardization, inter-operability,
and inter-connectivity;
(3)
Considerations of cost and the need for the transfer of information among
executive
branch agencies of state government in the most
timely and useful form possible require a
uniform policy and coordinated approach for the
use and acquisition of information resources and
technologies;
(4) It is the
policy of the State of Rhode Island to coordinate and direct the use of
information resources and technologies to
provide the most cost-effective and useful
development, management, exchange, and retrieval
of information by its elected and appointed
officials and citizens;
(5) It is the
intent of the State of Rhode Island that an information resources management
board be created to develop and implement plans
for the effective and efficient use of information
technology, computers, telecommunications, and
related systems throughout the executive branch
and to participate in discussions of the same
planning for all branches of state government.
29-8-2.
Definitions. -- (1) "Board" means the Rhode Island
information resources
management board;
(2)
"Communications" or "telecommunications" means any
transmission, emission, or
reception of signs, signals, writings, images,
and sounds of intelligence of any nature by wire,
radio, optical, or other electromagnetic
systems, and includes all facilities and equipment
performing these functions;
(3)
"Information resources" means the procedures, equipment materials,
and software
that are designed, built, operated, and
maintained to collect, record, process, store, retrieve,
display, and transmit information, and associated
personnel;
(4)
"Information resources management" means the planning, budgeting,
organizing,
directing, training, and accountability
associated with the government information. The term
encompasses both information itself and the related
resources associated with its use;
(5)
"Information resources management architecture" means the orderly
arrangement of
policies, standards, and guidelines for managing
information technology resources for the
purpose of maximizing the interconnection and
efficiency of these resources, and the ability of
users to share and optimize the information
resources;
(6)
"Information technologies" means data processing and
telecommunications
hardware, software, services, supplies,
facilities, maintenance, and training which are used to
support information processing and
telecommunications systems;
(7)
"Office" means the office of library and information services; and
(8)
"Project" means a program to provide information technologies support
to functions
within an executive branch state agency, which
should be characterized by well defined
parameters, specific objectives, common
benefits, planned activities, expected outcomes and
completion dates, and an established budget with
a specified source of funding.
29-8-3.
Board established. -- There is hereby authorized, created, and
established in the
executive department the Rhode Island
information resources management board, hereafter called
the board. It shall be the responsibility of the
board to coordinate and guide the application of
information technologies and resources in the
executive branch of state government.
29-8-4.
Appointment of members of the board. -- (a) The board consists
of:
(1) Three (3)
department directors from the executive branch appointed by the governor;
(2) The state
budget director or his or her designee from within the budget office;
(3) The
secretary of state or his or her designee from within the secretary of state's
office;
(4) The chief
information officer or his or her designee from within the office of the
chief information officer;
(5) One
representative from the public universities to be appointed by the governor who
shall give due consideration to the recommendation
of the commissioner of higher education;
(6) Two (2)
citizen members from the private sector with information resources
management knowledge and experience to be
appointed by the governor;
(7) One citizen
who is a consumer of government information to be appointed by the
governor;
(8) One
representative of local government appointed by the governor;
(9) The
Governor shall give due consideration to a recommendation from the president
of the Rhode Island league of cities and towns
or his or her designee;
(10) The
Governor shall give due consideration to a recommendation from the chair of
the library board of Rhode Island or his or her
designee;
(11) The
Governor shall give due consideration to a recommendation from the
commissioner of higher education or his or her
designee;
(12) The
Governor shall give due consideration to a recommendation from the
commissioner for elementary and secondary
education or his or her designee; and
(13) [Deleted
by P.L. 2000, ch. 270, section 1_;
(14) The
executive director of the Rhode Island public telecommunications authority or
his or her designee.
(15) Those
members of the board as of the effective date of this act [July 15, 2005]who
are members or designees of the general assembly
shall cease to be members of the board on the
effective date of this act [July 15, 2005_.
(b) Designees
of members serving ex-officio shall represent him or her at all meetings of
the board. No one shall be eligible for
appointment unless he or she is a resident of this state.
(c) All
gubernatorial appointments made under this section after the effective date of
this
act [July 15, 2005] with the exception of those
appointments made pursuant to subdivisions 29-8-
4(a)(1), (2), (3), and (4), shall be subject to
the advice and consent of the senate.
29-8-4.
Appointment of members of the board. -- (a) The board consists
of:
(1) Three (3)
department directors from the executive branch appointed by the governor;
(2) The state
budget director or his or her designee from within the budget office;
(3) The
secretary of state or his or her designee from within the secretary of state's
office;
(4) The chief
information officer or his or her designee from within the office of the
chief information officer;
(5) One
representative from the public universities to be appointed by the governor who
shall give due consideration to the
recommendation of the commissioner of higher education;
(6) Two (2)
citizen members from the private sector with information resources
management knowledge and experience to be
appointed by the governor;
(7) One
citizen who is a consumer of government information to be appointed by the
governor;
(8) One
representative of local government appointed by the governor;
(9) The
Governor shall give due consideration to a recommendation from the president
of the Rhode Island league of cities and towns
or his or her designee;
(10) The
Governor shall give due consideration to a recommendation from the chair of
the library board of Rhode Island or his or her
designee;
(11) The
Governor shall give due consideration to a recommendation from the
commissioner of higher education or his or her
designee;
(12) The
Governor shall give due consideration to a recommendation from the
commissioner for elementary and secondary
education or his or her designee; and
(13) —Deleted by
P.L. 2000, ch. 270, section 1_;
(14) The
executive director of the Rhode Island public telecommunications authority or
his or her designee.
(15) Those
members of the board as of the effective date of this act —July 15, 2005]who
are members or designees of the general assembly
shall cease to be members of the board on the
effective date of this act —July 15, 2005_.
(b) Designees
of members serving ex-officio shall represent him or her at all meetings of
the board. No one shall be eligible for
appointment unless he or she is a resident of this state.
(c) All
gubernatorial appointments made under this section after the effective date of
this
act —July 15, 2005] with the exception of those
appointments made pursuant to subdivisions 29-
8-4(a)(1), (2), (3), and (4), shall be subject
to the advice and consent of the senate.
29-8-5.
Officers. -- The governor shall appoint from the board's members
a chairperson;
the board shall elect from its members any other
officers it considers essential.
29-8-6.
Term of office. -- (a) The term of office of the members
specified in section 29-
8-4(a)(2), (3), (4), (5), (10), (11), (12), and
(14) shall be the same as the term of office by virtue
of which they serve upon the board.
(b) The terms
of the department directors appointed pursuant to section 29-8-4(1) shall
be established in the board's operating policies
or bylaws to be not less than three (3) years.
(c) All other
members of the board appointed pursuant to section 29-8-4 shall serve for a
term of four (4) years. Vacancies in the
membership of the board shall be filled in the same
manner as the original appointments. If a
nominating organization changes its name, the
subsequent organization having the same
responsibilities and purposes shall be the nominating
organization. The members of the board shall be
eligible to succeed themselves.
(d) Removal
for cause. - Public members of the board shall be removable by the
governor pursuant to the provisions of section
36-1-7 of the Rhode Island general laws, for cause
only, and removal solely for partisan or
personal reasons unrelated to capacity or fitness for the
office shall be unlawful.
29-8-7.
Compensation. -- Members of the board shall serve without
compensation.
29-8-8.
Quorum. -- A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum
for the
transaction of business. Members' designees
shall have voting privileges at board meetings. A
majority vote of those present shall be required
for action. No vacancy in the membership of the
board shall impair the right of a quorum to
exercise all of the rights and perform all of the duties
of the board.
29-8-9.
Meetings. -- (a) The board shall meet at least four (4) times
each year.
(b) In
addition, the board, upon the call of the officers, may hold meetings at any
time it
deems necessary. The board may establish
committees or work groups composed of board and
non-board members as necessary to advise the board
in carrying out its responsibilities, duties
and powers. Persons connected with the automated
information and communications resources
industries may participate on boards or work
groups, but shall not have a vote. The board may
adopt bylaws and operating policies necessary
for its efficient and effective operation.
29-8-10.
The board's roles and duties. -- (a) Providing overall
leadership, policy
direction, strategic planning and coordination
of information resources management for the
executive branch of state government and public
universities, including public access to
appropriate state government information
resources.
(b)
Formulation of a five (5) year statewide information resources management plan,
to
be updated every two (2) years, from long-range
information resources management plans
submitted by agencies of the executive branch,
including the public universities, as the board may
require;
(c) Defining,
maintaining, and publishing a timely information resources management
architecture relating to the management of
information resources by executive branch state
agencies, and implementing processes and
procedures to ensure compliance with the information
resources management architecture;
(d)
Coordinating, through policy and interagency agreements and monitoring, an
appropriate program of training and education
for executive branch state and local agencies
regarding strategic information systems
planning, and the selection and use of information
technologies to facilitate effective information
resources management, appropriate employee skill
building, and career development;
(e) Promoting
executive level awareness, support, and involvement with information
resources management throughout the executive
branch of government;
(f) Reviewing
executive branch agency five (5) year strategic information resources
plans, and forwarding those plans with findings
and recommendations to the agency head, the
governor's policy office, the budget office and
the general assembly for use during the preparation
and enactment of the annual budget;
(g)
Identifying and assessing opportunities for multi-agency development and use of
information resources, or the development of executive
branch agency projects which would
improve the quality and availability of
information;
(h)
Establishing and maintaining relationships with other planning organizations as
necessary to ensure coordination and
implementation of comprehensive statewide strategies
involved with, or affected by, information
technology;
(i)
Establishing and maintaining information dissemination service or clearinghouse
for:
(1) Current
practices of state agencies regarding information resources management;
(2) Emerging
and advancing information resources technologies;
(3)
Information resources vendor performance in the public sector;
(4) Technical
resources in the state; and
(5) Elements
of the information resources management architecture;
(j)
Establishing and maintaining research and development capacity for beneficial
applications of information resources technology
for the state's public sector, which includes:
(1) Conducting
research on current and emerging information resources technologies and
their potential to enhance governmental
services;
(2) Sponsoring
and evaluating pilot projects to assist with the successful adoption by
other state agencies;
(k) Fostering and
encouraging the interest and cooperation of the state information
resources technology community for improvement
and enhancement of public services delivery;
(l) Serving as
catalyst for information technology advancements in the public sector;
(m)
Recommending procedures and legislation to improve the accessibility of machine
readable public records by state agencies,
citizens, and businesses;
(n)
Recommending procedures and legislation to ensure the privacy of individuals,
with
particular emphasis on the potential for
invasion of individual privacy;
(o) Newly
appointed and qualified public members and designees of ex-officio members
shall, within six (6) months of their
qualification or designation, attend a training course that shall
be developed with board approval and conducted
by the chair of the board and shall include
instruction in the subject area of this chapter
and chapters 46 of title 42, 14 of title 36, and 2 of
title 38; and the board's rules and regulations.
The director of the department of administration
shall within ninety (90) days of the effective
date of this act [July 15, 2005] prepare and
disseminate training materials relating to the
provisions of chapters 46 of title 42, 14 of title 36,
and 2 of title 38.
29-8-10.
The board's roles and duties. -- (a) Providing overall
leadership, policy
direction, strategic planning and coordination
of information resources management for the
executive branch of state government and public
universities, including public access to
appropriate state government information
resources.
(b)
Formulation of a five (5) year statewide information resources management plan,
to
be updated every two (2) years, from long-range
information resources management plans
submitted by agencies of the executive branch,
including the public universities, as the board may
require;
(c) Defining,
maintaining, and publishing a timely information resources management
architecture relating to the management of information
resources by executive branch state
agencies, and implementing processes and
procedures to ensure compliance with the information
resources management architecture;
(d)
Coordinating, through policy and interagency agreements and monitoring, an
appropriate program of training and education
for executive branch state and local agencies
regarding strategic information systems
planning, and the selection and use of information
technologies to facilitate effective information
resources management, appropriate employee skill
building, and career development;
(e) Promoting
executive level awareness, support, and involvement with information
resources management throughout the executive
branch of government;
(f) Reviewing
executive branch agency five (5) year strategic information resources
plans, and forwarding those plans with findings
and recommendations to the agency head, the
governor's policy office, the budget office and
the general assembly for use during the preparation
and enactment of the annual budget;
(g)
Identifying and assessing opportunities for multi-agency development and use of
information resources, or the development of
executive branch agency projects which would
improve the quality and availability of
information;
(h)
Establishing and maintaining relationships with other planning organizations as
necessary to ensure coordination and
implementation of comprehensive statewide strategies
involved with, or affected by, information
technology;
(i)
Establishing and maintaining information dissemination service or clearinghouse
for:
(1) Current
practices of state agencies regarding information resources management;
(2) Emerging
and advancing information resources technologies;
(3)
Information resources vendor performance in the public sector;
(4) Technical
resources in the state; and
(5) Elements
of the information resources management architecture;
(j)
Establishing and maintaining research and development capacity for beneficial
applications of information resources technology
for the state's public sector, which includes:
(1) Conducting
research on current and emerging information resources technologies and
their potential to enhance governmental
services;
(2) Sponsoring
and evaluating pilot projects to assist with the successful adoption by
other state agencies;
(k) Fostering
and encouraging the interest and cooperation of the state information
resources technology community for improvement
and enhancement of public services delivery;
(l) Serving as
catalyst for information technology advancements in the public sector;
(m)
Recommending procedures and legislation to improve the accessibility of machine
readable public records by state agencies,
citizens, and businesses;
(n)
Recommending procedures and legislation to ensure the privacy of individuals,
with
particular emphasis on the potential for
invasion of individual privacy;
(o) Newly
appointed and qualified public members and designees of ex-officio members
shall, within six (6) months of their
qualification or designation, attend a training course that shall
be developed with board approval and conducted
by the chair of the board and shall include
instruction in the subject area of this chapter
and chapters 46 of title 42, 14 of title 36, and 2 of
title 38; and the board's rules and regulations.
The director of the department of administration
shall within ninety (90) days of the effective
date of this act —July 15, 2005] prepare and
disseminate training materials relating to the
provisions of chapters 46 of title 42, 14 of title 36,
and 2 of title 38.
29-8-11.
Staff. -- The staff of the office of library and information
services shall assist
the board in the formulation of the statewide
electronic data processing plan and provide
necessary support for its research activities.
Staff shall be knowledgeable in the management of
information systems. To accomplish the board's
work, all public universities, departments,
divisions, agencies and officers of the state
shall furnish the board necessary assistance,
resources, information, records or advice as it
may require which is pertinent to the subject matter
being studied.
29-8-12.
Information resources management plan and reports. -- The five
(5) year
statewide information resources management plan
shall:
(1) Take into account
projected information resource requirements of the executive
branch of state government, including its
departments, officers, agencies, and subdivisions; public
universities; and local government. Particular
emphasis shall be placed on coordination of
strategic planning for computerized information
resources systems and state and local
government information transfers.
(2) Establish
long range policy guidelines and strategies at the state level to be used by
executive branch agencies in the development and
implementation of their own information
technology and resources management plans;
(3) Identify
major issues related to improved information resources management,
including the identification of procurement
policy initiatives to encourage sharing of resources
and fair competitive resources acquisition;
(4) Identify
priorities for the implementation of information technologies based on
identification of feasible and measurable
performance criteria;
(5) Emphasize
connectively and provide for the electronic transfer of data, voice, radio,
and video among executive branch agencies; and
(6)
Furthermore, within ninety (90) days after the end of each fiscal year, the
board shall
approve and submit an annual report to the
governor, the speaker of the house of representatives,
the president of the senate, and the secretary
of state of its activities during that fiscal year. The
report shall provide: an operating statement
summarizing meetings or hearings held, meeting
minutes if requested, subjects addressed,
decisions rendered, rules or regulations promulgated,
studies conducted, policies and plans developed,
approved, or modified, and programs
administered or initiated; a consolidated
financial statement of all funds received and expended
including the source of the funds, a listing of
any staff supported by these funds, and a summary
of any clerical, administrative or technical
support received; a summary of performance during
the previous fiscal year including
accomplishments, shortcomings and remedies; a synopsis of
hearings, complaints, suspensions, or other
legal matters related to the authority of the
commission; a summary of any training courses
held pursuant to subsection 29-8-10(o) a briefing
on anticipated activities in the upcoming fiscal
year; and findings and recommendations for
improvements. The report shall be posted
electronically on the general assembly and the secretary
of state's websites as prescribed in section
42-20-8.2. The director of the department of
administration shall be responsible for the
enforcement of this provision.
29-8-13.
Other laws unaffected. -- Nothing in this section shall be
construed to alter or
diminish authority conveyed by the general laws
or the public laws to the secretary of state and
the office of library and information services.
The provisions of this chapter shall not be
construed to grant any authority over the
judicial or legislative branches of state government, or
agencies thereof, to the Rhode Island
information resources management board or the office of
library and information services.
SECTION 2. This
act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC01441
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