Lawmakers defund Florida State Technology Office
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The IT services functions that resided within the technology office will move to the Florida Department of Management Services and be incorporated into the new Division of Enterprise Information Technology Services.
The Florida State Technology Office has ceased to exist because state lawmakers are no longer funding it as a separate entity, state officials said.
The Statehouse sought to abolish the technology office and its functions entirely with SB 1494. Gov. Jeb Bush vetoed the bill June 27, but the Legislature, which controls the purse strings, will have its way regardless.
The IT services functions that resided within the technology office will move to the Florida Department of Management Services and be incorporated into the new Division of Enterprise Information Technology Services.
Lawmakers will continue to fund 156 positions that are being transferred to the new division but will no longer fund any strategic planning functions associated with the former technology office, including the state chief information officer position.
The new division will be headed by Julie Madden, former chief technology officer for the State Technology Office, said department spokeswoman Jennifer Fennell. Madden will be responsible for coordinating telecommunications, wireless and information service for state agencies and local governments.
CIO Simone Marstiller, whose position was eliminated, plans to take time off before considering her next career move.
Bush proposed reorganizing the technology office and moving its services and support functions to the Department of Management Services as part of his fiscal 2005-2006 budget proposal in January.
In his veto letter responding to SB 1494, Bush wrote that legislative dissatisfaction with the technology office did not justify legislating it out of existence.
He said the technology office had worked to build a consensus for enterprise IT governance and was a sound model for providing IT services to government entities. Through no fault of its own, the agency's efforts had been slow to gain acceptance.
Bush established the technology office in 2001 as a centralized organization within the executive branch responsible for setting statewide IT policy and supporting his vision for leveraging technology to foster an enterprise approach to managing IT.
The agency's work became a focal point of national attention in August 2003 when it awarded large IT outsourcing contracts to Accenture Ltd. and BearingPoint Inc. Those contracts were cancelled the following year for reasons that remain somewhat obscure but can be tied partly to a scathing report by the state auditor that criticized the contract administration.
The outsourcing deals were awarded by former Florida CIO Kim Bahrami, who subsequently resigned in February 2004. Marstiller, who took over four months later, terminated both contractors' outsourcing projects before the end of the year.
Marstiller said she made the best effort possible to develop working relationships with state agencies on IT matters. 'I feel like I came in and moved the ball a little bit closer to the goal line that [was] the governor's overall vision. I didn't come in with any huge plans; I just wanted to keep the good work going.'
William Welsh is the deputy editor of Government Computer News' sister publication, Washington Technology.