TECHNICAL PANEL

Nebraska Information Technology Commission
Tuesday, October 23, 2001, 9:00 a.m.
Varner Hall, Board Room
3835 Holdrege Street, Lincoln, Nebraska

APPROVED MINUTES

MEMBERS PRESENT:

Bob Huber, Nebraska Educational Telecommunications Commission
Brenda Decker, Department of Administrative Services, State of Nebraska
Christy Horn, Compliance Officer, University of Nebraska
Steve Schafer, Chief Information Officer, State of Nebraska
Walter Weir, Chief Information Officer, University of Nebraska (Alternate Rick Golden was present until Mr. Weir's arrival.)

OTHERS PRESENT:

Rick Golden, University of Nebraska
Dr. Jim Emal, University of Nebraska
Mike Overton, Criminal Justice
Steve Henderson, Department of Administrative Services
Mirta Hansen, FUTUREKIDS
Roger Hahn, Nebraska Information Network
Gene Hand, Public Service Commission
Wayne Fisher, Department of Education
Tom Conroy, Nebraska Information System
Alan Wibbels, ESU 10
Ron Combs, ESU 10
Tom Rolfes, Office of the CIO/N.I.T.C.
Rick Becker, Office of the CIO/N.I.T.C.
Lori Lopez Urdiales, Office of the CIO/N.I.T.C.

ROLL CALL AND MEETING NOTICE

Steve Schafer called the meeting to order at 9:05 a.m. Roll call was taken. There were four voting members present at the time of roll call. A quorum existed to conduct official business. Mr. Schafer stated that the meeting notice was posted to the N.I.T.C. Website and Public Meeting Calendar web site on October 15, 2001. The meeting agenda was posted to the N.I.T.C.Website on October17, 2001.

PUBLIC COMMENT

There was no public comment.

APPROVAL OF SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 MINUTES

Mr. Golden stated that under the NETCOM report the four bids should read: “Mr. Schafer reported that four bids were submitted: Worldcom, ATT, Qwest, and Sprint.”

Ms. Decker moved to approve the minutes with the corrected change. Mr. Golden seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Huber-Yes, Decker-Yes, Schafer-Yes and Golden-Yes. The motion was carried by unanimous vote.

PROJECT REVIEW – INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE FUND (PDF 73k)

Approval for funding from the Information Technology Infrastructure Fund is dependent upon review of the project plan by the Technical Panel with final approval by the N.I.T.C.

Ms. Horn arrived at 9:06 a.m.

Crime Commission, CJIS Project (PDF 187k) , Steve Schafer. Mike Overton, Chair of the CJIS Advisory Committee, was present to answer questions. The legislature has earmarked $250,000 annually for the project. Mr. Schafer recommended the budget in the implementation plan reflect the full amount of funding and should be resubmitted with revised budget.

Ms. Decker moved to recommend that the N.I.T.C. conditionally approve with the condition that a revised budget, not exceeding the $250,000 annual appropriation, is to be submitted to the Technical Panel.” Mr. Huber seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Golden-Yes, Schafer-Yes, Horn-Yes, Decker-Yes, and Huber-Yes. The motion was carried by unanimous vote.

Division of Communications - Wireless (PDF 187k) , Brenda Decker for Mike Jeffries. The legislature has earmarked $1.5 million for the project. The Project Proposal brought to the Technical Panel is requesting $318,455 payment for services currently being done for the RFP process. The Implementation Plan is dependent upon what happens with the RFP proposal and it specifications. Bids are due November 5th and it is anticipated that the Implementation Plan will be ready the Technical Panel’s review in December.

Mr. Golden moved to accept the Wireless Project Proposal requesting funding for the RFP process. Mr. Huber seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Horn-Yes, Decker-Abstained, Huber-Yes, Golden-Yes, and Schafer-Yes. The motion was carried by majority vote.

Mr. Weir arrived at 9:30 a.m. and presided over the remainder of the meeting.

Nebraska Information System (PDF 77k) Update on Status of NIS Conditions. Tom Conroy provided a brief overview on the progress report submitted on the ten conditions of the N.I.T.C. and entertained questions and comments from the members. Mr. Schafer suggested that written communication be made to the N.I.T.C. that the Technical Panel has reviewed the progress report andthat adequate progress has been made toward complying with the conditions adopted by the N.I.T.C. Mr. Conroy and Ms. McClurg will be in attendance at the N.I.T.C. October 31st meeting.

PROJECT REVIEW – INFORMATIONAL

ESU 10 Center for Emerging Technology, Alan Wibbels. State dollars are not being requested for the center. Existing resources are being utilized. The City of Kearney has committed $1 million for the project. The Project wanted the Technical Panel to be informed. The services that will be available through the Center for Emerging Technology include but are not limited to the following:

• Helpdesk and consultation services via e-mail, telephone and the web
• Hardware and software installation, configuration and management
• Network operations management service (onsite and/or remote)
• Technology planning
• Security audits
• Technical training and support
• Network and system administration training and support

Members discussed the project with Mr. Wibbels. Issues discussed included: cost of the building; communicating with potential customers; partnering with other entities, for example UNL Cooperative Extension, IMS, DOC, GIS; and consideration of standards.

PROJECT REVIEW – STATE RECORDS BOARD GRANT APPLICATIONS

Nebraska Library Commission, Value-Added Book Reviews (PDF 88k) . Mr. Becker reported that the State Government Council approved this grant for funding through the Government Technology Collaboration Fund. The project has withdrawn its application to the State Records Board.

Department of Agriculture, On-line Fee Collection (PDF 68k) . Mr. Becker reported that this grant was also submitted to the State Government Council for funding from the Government Technology Collaboration Fund to fund part of the project cost. The grant was not recommended for funding. The sponsoring agency has re-submitted a revised application to the State Records Board for all the project’s cost.

Mr. Schafer moved that the Technical Panel has reviewed the revised grant application entitled “Online Fee Collection,” finds that:

• The project is technically feasible.
• The proposed technology is appropriate for the project.
• The technical elements can be accomplished within the proposed time frame and budget.

Mr. Weir seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Huber-Yes, Decker-Yes, Horn-Yes, Schafer-Yes, and Weir-Yes. The motion was carried by unanimous vote.

PROJECT REVIEWS – GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY COLLABORATION FUND GRANT REVIEWS (PDF 2MB)

Mr. Becker stated that the State Government Council prioritizes the list of projects and makes a recommendation for funding to the N.I.T.C.. The Technical Panel's role is to approve the technical reviews completed on the projects.

Ms. Decker moved to approve the technical reviews of the Government Technology Collaboration Fund grants to be forwarded to the N.I.T.C. for final approval. Roll call vote: Weir-Yes, Schafer-Abstaining, Horn-Yes, Decker-Yes, and Huber-Yes. The motion was carried by majority vote.

STATE ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE - ACCESSIBILITY (PDF 215k) , Christy Horn. No negative comments or feedback has been received on the proposed architecture. The Accessibility Checklists (PDF 322k) would be an addendum that could be used as a resource.

Mr. Schafer moved to recommend the Accessibility Architecture to the N.I.T.C. for adoption. Ms. Decker seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Decker-Yes, Horn-Yes, Schafer-Yes, Weir-Yes, and Huber-Yes. The motion was carried by unanimous vote.

STATE ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE – HARDWARE (PDF 109k) , Steve Schafer. Due to some of the feedback and comments received regarding the exclusion of some hardware and the needs of the educational sector, Mr. Schafer recommended further development of the standards before forwarding them N.I.T.C. for adoption. All suggested changes and a revised document will be brought to the Technical Panel for review.

STATE ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE – SECURITY, Steve Schafer. The State Government Council has reviewed the policies and security handbook templates (IS Technical Staff Handbook (PDF 457k) , Security Officer Instruction Guide (PDF 567k) , and Computer User's Security Handbook (PDF 477k) ). All documents have been posted on the web site for public comment.

Mr. Schafer moved to adopt the Security Policies for the N.I.T.C.'s endorsement with the understanding that they be flexible enough to meet agency’s needs and that the Security Handbooks are to be used as a guidelines for agencies to use all or portions of the handbook for their particular needs. Ms. Horn seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Schafer-Yes, Horn-Yes, Decker-Yes, Huber-Yes, and Weir-Yes. The motion was carried by unanimous vote.

STATE ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE - INCIDENT REPORTING (PDF 291k) , Steve Schafer. A letter was sent to all agencies, board and commissions explaining the draft incident reporting procedures. Agencies were encouraged to use the procedures with the understanding that these are in draft form to be adopted, and, that input, suggestions and comments were also requested.

Mr. Schafer moved that the technical panel proceed with incident reporting by posting the document for a 30-day public comment period. Ms. Horn seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Decker-Yes, Horn-Yes, Schafer-Yes, Weir-Yes, and Huber-Yes. The motion was carried by unanimous vote.

STATE ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE – VIDEO STANDARDS (PDF 102k) , Bob Huber. The Work Group has received lots of comments (PDF 171k) . The testing is completed and data is being compiled. At the October 19th Education Council meeting, the Council passed a motion to request more time from the Technical Panel. The Education Council would like adequate time to review the video standards final report and provide input to the Technical Panel before the Panel makes a recommendation to the N.I.T.C.. It is anticipated that by November 16th, a summary report of video standards will be ready to send to Education Council members for review prior to the November 30th Education Council meeting. The Technical Panel will take action on the video standards at the December meeting and will forward their recommendation to the N.I.T.C. The N.I.T.C. next meets in January. Mr. Schafer also stated that the State Government Council would like opportunity to provide feedback as well. A decision on a video standards recommendation was deferred until the December meeting.

REGULAR INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND WORK GROUP UPDATES

Wireless Project, Brenda Decker. The bids are out and are due back November 5th. The evaluation team is currently being organized. The League of Municipalities has sent their proposal to the legislature and to the Division of Communications.

Network Architecture Work Group, Brenda Decker. The four finalists have been notified that the State of Nebraska was unable to award the bid. One of the reasons stated was that “there was no opportunity to partner with local exchange companies”. The Work Group is deciding how to proceed. Ms. Decker will brief the N.I.T.C. at the October 31st meeting.

Security Architecture Work Group, Steve Schafer. Mr. Schafer reported that the procedures are now complete and that the next steps include a focus on awareness of the procedures. A Government Technology Collaboration Fund grant will address training needs and another grant will provide for a security audit next spring. Mr. Weir asked if the Chair of the N.I.T.C. would be willing to acknowledge and give recognition to the members of the Technical Panel Work Groups. Staff will follow-up on the request.

Accessibility Architecture Work Group, Christy Horn. The work group plans to focus on developing training.

E-Government Architecture Work Group, Steve Schafer. The CIO’s office submitted three grant applications to the Government Technology Collaboration Fund. The CIO withdrew two of the grants for consideration - one of which was for e-government efforts. The Work Group will continue working towards its objectives. Mr. Weir offered to provide a demonstration of the UNL’s education portal.

Video Standards Work Group, Bob Huber. A detailed report was provided earlier in the meeting.

OTHER BUSINESS

There was no other business.

FUTURE MEETING DATES AND ADJOURNMENT

The next meetings of the N.I.T.C. Technical Panel will be held on Tuesday, November 13, 2001, 9 a.m. and Tuesday, December 11, 2001, 9 a.m. at Varner Hall.

Mr. Weir adjourned the meeting at 11:35 a.m.

Minutes were taken by Lori Lopez Urdiales and reviewed by Steve Schafer and Rick Becker of the Office of the CIO/N.I.T.C.

Meeting Minutes