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NEBRASKA INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION

Wednesday, November 13, 2002, 1:30 p.m.
Videoconference Sites:
Executive Building-Videoconference Room 103, 521 South 14th Street, Lincoln, Nebraska
Panhandle Station-High Plains Room, 4502 Avenue I, Scottsbluff, Nebraska
Kearney Public Library-Information Center, 2nd Floor, 2020 1st Avenue, Kearney, Nebraska
APPROVED MINUTES

MEMBERS PRESENT:
Lieutenant Governor Dave Heineman, Chair
Greg Adams, Mayor, City of York
Linda Aerni, Chief Executive Officer, Community Internet Systems
L. Merill Bryan, Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer, Union Pacific
Dr. Eric Brown, Manager, KRVN Radio (in Kearney)
Trev Peterson, Attorney, Knudsen, Berkheimer, Richardson, and Endacott, LLP
Dr. L. Dennis Smith, President, University of Nebraska
Hod Kosman, CEO, Platte Valley Financial Services (in Scottsbluff)

MEMBER ABSENT:
Dr. Doug Christensen, Commissioner, Department of Education

CALL TO ORDER, ROLL CALL AND NOTICE OF MEETING

Linda Aerni was introduced and welcomed as a new commissioner of the NITC.

Lieutenant Governor Heineman called the meeting to order at 1:30 p.m.There were eight commissioners present at the time of roll call. A quorum existed to conduct official business. Lieutenant Governor Heineman stated the meeting notice was posted to the NITC and Public Calendar websites on November 6, 2002 and that the meeting agenda was posted to the NITC website on November 6, 2002.

APPROVAL OF SEPTEMBER 16, 2002 MINUTES

Commissioner Peterson moved to approve the September 16th minutes as presented. Commissioner Smith seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Adams-Yes, Aerni-Yes, Brown-Yes, Bryan-Yes, Heineman-Yes, Kosman-Yes, Peterson-Yes, and Smith-Yes. Results: 8-Yes and 0-No. The motion was carried by unanimous vote.

PUBLIC COMMENT - There was no public comment.

REPORT–COMMUNITY COUNCIL (PDF 64k)
Anne Byers, Community Information Technology Manager
(Click on above Report-Community Council link for detailed report information.)

Technologies Across Nebraska. Ms. Byers reported that progress is being made on the IT Planning and Mini Grant project, a collaborative effort of the NITC and the Technologies Across Nebraska. Ms. Byers asked the Commissioners if the NITC would be interested in partnering along with the University of Nebraska Extension, Nebraska On-line, and the Secretary of State, in offering classes on e-government for local government officials. By group consensus, the Commissioners agreed. For informational purposes, a handout was provided titled "University of Nebraska-Lincoln Access E-government-An Educational Program". (http://connecting.unl.edu/egov)

Nebraska Universal Service fund. Ms. Byers reported that the Nebraska Public Service Commission held a hearing on November 6, 2002 regarding the use of the Nebraska Universal Service Fund to support telehealth. Commissioners had several questions regarding: state and federal universal service utilization; broadband services; the use of these funds for Homeland Security; and collaboration among health, library and educational entities to receive funding. A report on the federal and state universal service funds will be prepared for the next commission meeting.

Commissioners would like to be informed when the NITC staff visit Nebraska's communities.

REPORT–EDUCATION COUNCIL
Tom Rolfes, Education Information Technology Manager
(Click on above Report-Education Council link for detailed report information.)

Commissioners had questions and/or comments on the following:

Education Portal. Mr. Rolfes informed the Commissioners that the go-live date is set for February 1st.

Blackboard. Blackboard is a type of learning environment in which students have access to an instructor and/or course materials at the same time or to different times. Higher education institutions have used this or similar software for quite some time. Now, the K-12 sector is looking into this as a model. An aggregated state purchase is being explored. The University of Nebraska has offered to serve as hosts for entities needing assistance. This has been a collaborative effort initiated by the Education Council.

REPORT–STATE GOVERNMENT COUNCIL
Steve Schafer, Chief Information Officer

The council has met twice since the last NITC meeting. Activities include:

  • The disaster planning procedures were recommended for endorsement by the Technical Panel. These are an action item for final approval by the NITC.
  • A new work group was established to discuss electronic records retention in compliance with state records retention laws for both communication and database records. Bill Ptacek, Director of Records Management, State of Nebraska, will serve as chair of the work group.
  • The E-government conference was conducted on September 26th at the Cornhusker Hotel in Lincoln. Government Technology Magazine was a co-sponsor. Approximately 150 employees representing 24 state agencies attended.In addition to state employees, there were 11 representatives from local government and a few from the private sector. Conference evaluations showed a 3.9 rating out of a total of 5. The quality of speakers was a conference highlight.
  • Utilizing a grant approved by the NITC, the council has begun a pilot project of web-based training on security awareness.So far, 700 employees have signed up to take the training. The project will be evaluated to determine if this is an effective method of training.
  • Grant funds have also been used for a security awareness project. An RFP was issued for proposals to test the security of the State's network. The bids will be opened on November 26th.

REPORT – TECHNICAL PANEL
Walter Weir, Chair

The Technical Panel has met twice since the last NITC meeting and will meet again in December. A project review was done for a Board of Public Accountancy grant from the State Records Board and a voluntary project review was done for Wayne State College’s Last Mile Wireless Effort. The panel approved the project reviewers for the FY2003-05 biennial budget requests and provided input and comments on the technical reviews. Work Group Charters for the Statewide Synchronous Video Network Work Group and the Network Architecture Work Group are being discussed and further developed.

The Technical Panel have endorsed the following standards and guidelines for final review and approval by the NITC:

Security Architecture-Disaster Recovery Planning Procedures (PDF 181k)

Discussion occurred as to whether these are standards rather than guidelines, especially dealing with security. Currently, there are guidelines for state agencies to utilize and are not mandatory. Commissioners suggested that consideration should be taken to make it a standard, especially for security. It was also recommended that the authority to declare a disaster be clearly stated in Item 5.

Commissioner Peterson moved to approve the Security Architecture-Disaster Recovery Planning Procedures. Commissioner Brown seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Smith-Yes, Peterson-Yes, Kosman-Yes, Heineman-Yes, Bryan-Yes, Brown-Yes, Aerni-Yes, and Adams-Yes. Results: 8-Yes and 0-No. The motion was carried by unanimous vote.

Groupware Architecture-Secure E-mail for State Government Agencies (PDF 103k)

Commissioner Bryan moved to approve the Groupware Architecture-Secure E-mail for State Government Agencies. Commissioner Peterson seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Bryan-Yes, Heineman-Yes, Brown-Yes, Kosman-Yes, Aerni-Yes, Peterson-Yes, Adams-Yes, and Smith-Yes. Results: 8-Yes and 0-No. The motion was carried by unanimous vote.

REPORT – STAFF
Steve Schafer, Chief Information Officer

A Status of Action Items (PDF 218k) was sent to commissioners prior to the meeting as an update. Commissioners had no questions.

Digital State Survey 2002 results were briefly reviewed. Although the survey is not totally comprehensive, it is a useful benchmark. Nebraska has had some areas of strengths, as well as weaknesses. For 2002, Nebraska’s Courts received the Best of Breed award for its JUSTICE system. Discussions occurred regarding the NITC’s role in such surveys for action and/or recommendations to the state. No decisions were made but Commissioners were asked to give this more thought for future discussion.

Mr. Schafer acknowledged that the following list is not totally complete, but a few of the E-Government Initiatives underway include the following:

  • The Supreme Court is looking at automated access to court information hopefully by January.
  • Internet payment of traffic tickets, and e-filing (addressing legal barriers and budget limitations)
  • The Chief Information Officer and Nebraska Online received grants from the State Records Boards for the following initiatives: 1) a Business Portal; 2) a Citizen’s Portal; 3) an Education Portal; 4) an Online Payment Portal; and 5) Interactive License Renewal.
  • The State Government Council is also working with Nebraska Online in developing an Employee Portal.
  • The Secretary of State is working with Nebraska Online to provide rules and regulations online.

PROJECT REVIEW AND PRIORITIZATION (PDF 362k)

Mr. Schafer briefly reviewed the process for the budget requests. State agencies submitted budget requests for information technology projects for the FY2003-05 Biennial Budget. The office of the Chief Information Officer solicits project reviewers. The Technical Panel approves the project reviewers and reviews and endorses the technical reviews. The State Government Council recommends priority of the information technology projects. Their recommendation was to move HIPPA to top priority. The NITC then makes recommendations and approves the list of priority projects to be forwarded to the Governor and legislature.

Commissioners had an opportunity to ask questions from Health and Human Services staff regarding their request.

Commissioner Smith moved to approve the State Government Council's recommendation of prioritized budget requests. Commissioner Adams seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Kosman-Yes, Brown-Yes, Peterson-Yes, Aerni-Yes, Smith-Yes, Adams-Yes, Bryan-Yes, and Heineman-Yes. Results: 8-Yes and 0-No. The motion was carried by unanimous vote.

Thoughts and comments regarding the project review and prioritization process included the following:

  • One challenge has been how to define what new or additional monies mean.
  • It is difficult to determine what are new monies and what are ongoing costs.
  • Other factors must be considered when prioritizing needs. It is difficult to agree with a priority without a more clear understanding of the projects and their needs.
  • What amount of funding is available for I.T. projects

Lieutenant Governor would like to spend more time at a future meeting discussing whether the NITC should be more proactive with the legislature regarding the merits and priorities of projects as they relate to the NITC’s priorities.

NITC BIENNIAL REPORT (PDF 320k)

Lieutenant Governor Heineman asked commissioners to send him feedback on the cover letter. Mr. Schafer indicated that there are some minor formatting and minor editorial corrections that need to be made before submitting the report.

Commissioner Bryan moved to approve the NITC biennial report for submission to the Governor and the Legislature. Commissioner Peterson seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Kosman-Yes, Brown-Yes, Peterson-Yes, Aerni-Yes, Smith-Yes, Adams-Yes, Bryan-Yes, and Heineman-Yes. Results: 8-Yes and 0-No. The motion was carried by unanimous vote.

NETCOM/CAP ACTIVITIES
Walter Weir

A Nebraska Educational Network (PowerPoint 893k) presentation was given indicating the different locations and speeds of core infrastructure within the state; the proposed circuits connections of the Nebraska Educational Network between ESU’s, and state and community colleges. The following issues need to be addressed:

  • The network is being designed initially to address data and Internet 1 use but may expand to include other applications.

  • Carrying video on the network is more involved.

  • Long-term management of the Educational Network environment has to be decided.

  • Business Model needs to be fully developed.

Mr. Schafer mentioned that management issues are a concern that will need to be addressed by the Network Policy Work Group.

NEW BUSINESS - There was no new business.

NEXT MEETING AND ADJOURNMENT

The next meeting of the Nebraska Information Technology Commission will be a planning retreat. Staff will check schedules for an early January or February date.

With no further business, Commissioner Smith moved to adjourn. Commissioner Peterson seconded the motion. All were in favor. The motion was carried by voice vote.

The meeting was adjourned at 3:45 p.m.

Minutes were taken by Lori Lopez Urdiales and reviewed by staff of the Office of the CIO/NITC.

Meeting Minutes

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