GOVERNMENT COUNCIL (Information Resources Cabinet)
of the
NEBRASKA INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION

Friday, April 9, 1999, 3:00 p.m.
Governor's Mansion, Lower Level, 1425 H Street, Lincoln

MINUTES

MEMBERS PRESENT
Bansal, Mahendra (Proxy for Dayle Williamson, WR)	Harvey, Dorest Private Sector	Overton, Mike (Proxy for Al Curtis, Criminal Justice)
Conroy, Tom IMS	Hill, Lauren PRO	Schafer, Steve CIO/IDSD
Decker, Brenda DOC	Lemon, Greg (Proxy for Scott Moore, SOS)	Shanahan, Bob (Proxy for Butch Lecuona, Labor)
Elliott, Jeff HHS	Ogden, Jon (Proxy for John Craig, DOR)	Schmidt, J.L. (Proxy for Lori McClurg, DAS)
Egr, Mary Jane Dept. of Revenue	Oligmueller, Gerry Budget	Wimes, Ed DMV
MEMBERS ABSENT
Zimmerman, Dennis

ROLL CALL AND MINUTES

The meeting was called to order by Steve Schafer, Acting State Chief Information Officer at 3:05 p.m. Fifteen of sixteen members were present. A quorum was available to conduct official business. Mr. Schmidt moved and it was seconded by Mr. Harvey to approve the November 1998 and December 1998 minutes. Mr. Schafer asked for a vote by group. All were in favor. Motion carried.

PUBLIC COMMENT - There were no public comments.

BACKGROUND AND HISTORY - Steve Schafer

Mr. Schafer provided a brief history and background on the formation of the Information Resources Cabinet for the new members. A document was distributed to members on the Initiatives of the Information Resources Cabinet. This may be something the council will want to spend more time reviewing at a future meeting.

UPDATE ON Y2K - Tom Conroy and Steve Schafer

Mr. Conroy reported that the CTA contract, which focused on mainframe, has been completed. Payment of the contract will occur over several years. Mr. Schafer reported that there is a Y2K Readiness Group that has been meeting for the following purpose: address remaining issues; adopt an emergency response plan; conduct outreach to local government and businesses; and address public relations.

In February, the CIO sent letters to agency heads encouraging them to conduct a self-assessment. Seven agencies have identified Y2K Coordinators. A website has been established for Y2K and can be accessed through the State homepage. IMS is identifying what other mainframe applications agencies are still using. FEMA is addressing Y2K and are conducting a Risk Assessment, which is available on the state's Year 2000 website. Steve Henderson has been conducting local government outreach by speaking to groups informally. Not much has been done formally with local government in terms of assessment. For business outreach, state agencies that have established relationships with businesses will be depended upon for these efforts. The Governor will form a group to address Public Relations and Y2K Readiness. There will be a meeting next week for Public Information Officers.

UPDATE ON NIS PROJECT - Tom Conroy

Mr. Conroy reported that meetings have been held with code agencies and soon the non-code agencies will be contacted. Senators have also been involved. There is acknowledgement that the current system is old. Senators want measurable statements - what will the new system do for future appropriations, is the amount of money requested adequate, etc. The Appropriation Committee is requiring a critical design review including cost benefits before monies are appropriated for purchase. There has been money allocated for the study, which will be conducted by an outside source.

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR PREPARING A STATEWIDE TECHNOLOGY PLAN - Steve Schafer

Mr. Schafer, Acting State Chief Information Officer, shared a brief history on the document distributed and provided an overview of its contents to the council members. Following is a list of persons involved in the completion of the plan, along with staff:

Part I Goals - NITC Commissioners (will be discussing these at the April 14th meeting)
Part II Sector Priorities and Action Plans - Joint Planning Subcommittee and the councils
Part III Technical Infrastructure Plan - Technical Panel
Part IV Process and Procedures - Technical Panel
Part V Implementation Plan - Joint Planning Subcommittee

Steps were explained for Part II Sector Priorities and Action Plans (document distributed to members). The Joint Planning Subcommittee will be meeting immediately after the NITC April 14th meeting to begin work on Step 1 Needs Assessment Tasks A - to conduct a perceived needs assessment. This would be a cross section perspective of the most important problems and opportunities that require the use of information technology. Step 1 Tasks B and C - will be done by the councils at their May meeting. The input cross section perspective will be brought back to each of the councils for input, suggestions and prioritization. The June meeting will focus on Step 2 Casual Analysis Tasks A, B and C - to describe present condition, desired outcomes and causes of identified needs. The Joint Planning Subcommittee will meet to consolidate the input from the councils.

STATE GOVERNMENT COUNCIL CHARTER:

Copies of the draft charter were distributed for review. Feedback was requested of members regarding membership. Rick Becker, Government Information Technology Manager, recommended that the Department of Education be included and asked the council if this would be appropriate. It was by group consensus to expand the membership to include the Department of Education. Notice of public meetings was discussed. Public bodies must give "reasonable advance publicized notice". It was by group consensus to utilize the website and electronic means for "reasonable notice" of future meetings.

AGENCY REPORTS:

Mr. Bansal reported that the aerial photographic imagery for Nebraska flown under the National NAP Program has recently been completed and hopefully will be available by September 1999. The NRC is looking into revising the first generation of Digital Ortho Quads as the new photos become available.

Greg Lemon reported that Greg Hunter has been hired as a consultant for the electronic imaging project. Updates and reports on the project can be viewed on the SOS homepage.

Workers Compensation has formed a task force to explore the feasibility of electronic communications.

NEXT MEETING DATE, TIME AND LOCATION:

It was emphasized by Mr. Becker that the next two meetings will be working sessions on the Sector Priorities and Action Plans section of Policies and Procedure for Preparing a Statewide Technology Plan and that it is important to have all council members in attendance. The next two meetings have been scheduled for May 14th and June 7th in the mornings. Locations to be announced.

Mr. Schafer adjourned the meeting at 4:47 p.m.

Minutes were taken by Lori Lopez Urdiales and reviewed by Steve Schafer and Rick Becker, Office of the Chief Information Officer/NITC.

Meeting Minutes