STATE GOVERNMENT COUNCIL
Nebraska Information Technology Commission
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Executive Building-Lower Level Conference Room
Lincoln, Nebraska
MINUTES
MEMBERS PRESENT:
Bob Beecham, NDE Support Services
Randy Cercle, Workers’ Compensation Court
Tom Conroy, Information Technology Services
Josh Daws, Secretary of State’s Office
Keith Dey, Department of Motor Vehicles
Pat Flanagan, Private Sector
Dick Gettemy, Department of Revenue
Dorest Harvey, Private Sector
Steve Henderson, Alt. for Brenda Decker, Chief Information Officer
Suresh Namala, Alt. for Bill Miller, Supreme Court
Jon Ogden, Department of Roads
Jim Ohmberger, Health and Human Services
Mike Overton, Crime Commission
Bob Shanahan, Department of Labor
Rod Wagner, Library Commission
George Wells, Correctional Services
MEMBERS ABSENT: Dennis Burling, Department of Environmental Quality; Mike Calvert, Legislative Fiscal Office; Rex Gittins, Department of Natural Resources; Lauren Hill, Governor’s Policy Research Office Gerry Oligmueller, Department of Administrative Services; Jayne Scofield, Information Technology Services; Terry Pell, State Patrol; and Joe Wilcox, Budget Office
ROLL CALL, MEETING NOTICE & OPEN MEETINGS ACT INFORMATION
Mr. Henderson called the meeting to order at 1:30 p.m. There were 16 voting members at the time of roll call. A quorum existed to conduct official business. The meeting notice was posted to the NITC Website and Nebraska Public Meeting Calendar websites on December 1, 2006. The meeting agenda was posted to the NITC Website on January 9, 2007. A copy of the Open Meetings Act was located on the front table.
APPROVAL OF OCTOBER MINUTES
Mr. Flanagan moved to approve the October 19, 2006 minutes as presented. Mr. Harvey seconded. Roll call vote: Beecham-Yes, Cercle-Yes, Conroy-Yes, Daws-Yes, Dey-Yes, Flanagan-Yes, Gettemy-Yes, Harvey-Yes, Henderson-Yes, Namala-Yes, Ogden-Yes, Ohmberger-Yes, Overton-Yes, Shanahan-Yes, Wagner-Yes, and Wells-Yes. Results: Yes-15, No-0. Motion carried.
STATEWIDE TECHNOLOGY PLAN – STATE GOVERNMENT COUNCIL RELATED ACTION ITEMS
The Statewide Technology Plan is updated annually. For the next meeting, members will be asked to review these and determine if there should be additional items. The NITC is monitoring a new initiative – eHealth. As a result, there may be a new council created to address related issues. Lt. Governor Sheehy is involved with e-health at the national level.
Mr. Wells reported that the Department of Corrections is conducting a telehealth project at the Tecumseh facility.
UPDATES:
Shared Services – Email, Beverlee Bornemeier. Governor Heineman has asked the Office of the CIO to assess what email options are in place and to evaluate the development of a unified email system for the state of Nebraska. No decisions have been made.
Security. In Mr. Hartman's absence, Mr. Conroy provided a brief update. RACF password rules have been strengthened. March 2007 is the target date to implement the new rules. The new password rules are:
1) At least eight characters
2) At least one uppercase letter
3) At least one lowercase letter
4) At least one number
Members were instructed to contact Fred Lupher for have any questions or operational matters.
Mainframe Tape Storage, Tom Conroy: Last quarter, the Office of the CIO issued an RFP for mainframe tape storage that would: 1) provide for an automated tape library, and 2) provide a virtual tape library. The office is getting ready to award a contract. Tapes will be encrypted at the drive. Currently, there are over 48,000 tapes. This will be reduced to approximately 500 tapes. A decision will need to be made regarding the existing tape volumes. The Office of the CIO applications staff will be reviewing data for use and retention. Mr. Conroy asked members to also review data as well to see if there could be other means of storage and to determine if the data is needed. Rates charges to agencies may change. Historically, agencies were charged for tape mounts but that will likely be different with the new environment.
Legislation, Steve Henderson. The Office of the OCIO will monitor any legislation dealing with I.T. The NITC web site will contain information on legislation. Members were asked to inform the Office of the CIO of any I.T. related legislation that we have not posted.
Budget Request System , Steve Henderson. The DAS Budget Office is in early phases to revise their budget request system. Mr. Henderson and Steve Schafer have been working with Budget Office in 4 major areas: 1) Formulation of agency I.T. budgets to incorporate both so that the IT and operational budgets done in one place, 2) incorporate the NITC project proposal process, 3) incorporate the NITC Project reviews for advancement to the legislature, as well as be able to determine project’s progress update, and 4) incorporate agency level I.T. plans. The goal is to integrate these process so it is all done in one place.
AGENCY REPORTS
Members were given an opportunity to share I.T. news regarding their agency projects.
Mr. Conroy mentioned that Daylight Savings Time starts earlier and ends later this year. (2nd Sunday in March to 1st Sunday in November). There may be some time stamp issues that could be resolved with java patches. MS Windows 2000 no longer has regular updates so agencies will need to have an alternative plan. Mr. Conroy also stated that his staff is investigating implementation of serure FTP for those customers who may not be able to purchase Connect Direct.
OTHER BUSINESS
There was no other business.
NEXT MEETING DATE AND TIME AND MEETING ADJOURNMENT
The next meeting of the NITC State Government Council will be held on Thursday, February 8th, Executive Building-Lower Level Conference Room, 521 South 14th Street, Lincoln, Nebraska. The meeting agenda will focus on reviewing the State Government Council’s action plans and an update of Shared Services items.
With no further business, Mr. Henderson adjourned the meeting at 2:30 p.m.
Minutes were taken by Lori Lopez Urdiales and reviewed by Steve Henderson, Office of the CIO/NITC.
Meeting Minutes