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Second Regular Session

Sixty-first General Assembly

LLS NO. 98­0539.01 DHG SENATE BILL 98­115

STATE OF COLORADO

BY SENATOR Alexander;

also REPRESENTATIVE Anderson.

BUSINESS AFFAIRS & LABOR

APPROPRIATIONS

A BILL FOR AN ACT

CONCERNING COORDINATION OF TECHNOLOGY, AND MAKING AN APPROPRIATION THEREFOR.

Bill Summary

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does not necessarily reflect any amendments that may be subsequently adopted.)

Declares that a coordinated, statewide approach to linking state, local, and nonprofit private information resources to each other via the state's digital communication network will increase efficiency in providing government services to citizens and provide excess capacity that will benefit both public and private sectors.

Creates a community grant program, administered by the existing Colorado advanced technology institute commission (CATI commission), under which communities will vie for state capital construction moneys to fund local programs to link "public offices". Defines "public offices" to include schools, libraries, hospitals, and offices of state and local government agencies. Assigns the executive director of the department of personnel the task of connecting state agencies to the network in cooperation with communities that have received grants for this purpose.

Limits expenditures under the grant program to capital costs and calls upon public offices to bear the ongoing costs of operation and personnel. Estimates the total cost of the program at $30 million over 3 years. Appropriates $10 million to the CATI commission for the 98­99 fiscal year.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:

SECTION  1.  Legislative declaration. The general assembly hereby finds, determines, and declares that:

(1)  Over the past decade, private companies within Colorado have dramatically improved the delivery of products and services to their customers through the application of Internet and other information technology. Businesses have re­engineered their most basic functions, resulting in more efficient organizations and more satisfied consumers. State government, by emulating the success of the private sector, has the opportunity to harness the power of information technology to improve the delivery of government services to the citizens of Colorado.

(2)  Just as businesses are available to the consumer on a 24­hour­per­day, 7­day­per­week basis, so may be Colorado state government. Computer network connectivity and widespread information access form the foundation for this improved government service delivery. Unlike private businesses, however, the public sector is charged with a special obligation to the communities it serves. Therefore, coordinated strategies at both the state and local level are required to ensure that the benefits of such improvement are distributed equitably.

(3)  Prior technology­related funding initiatives have addressed only certain sectors within the state and communities, resulting in a patchwork quilt of connectivity and inefficient aggregation of the state's purchasing power. This act outlines the coordinated policy and funding initiatives required to unify these efforts under a single strategy to improve the lives of Colorado's citizens through technology.

(4)  This act is motivated by the following findings:

(a)  For improved service delivery, all government agencies and political subdivisions need networked connections to each other and the public.

(b)  For efficiency, data transport for these agencies and subdivisions should be carried on the same telecommunications network.

(c)  For increased private sector infrastructure investment, government offices within every region should aggregate their demand and serve as an "anchor tenant" to stimulate deployment of new telecommunications technology of benefit to the entire residential and business community.

(d)  For equitable delivery of enhanced services, a coordinated, statewide effort is required to ensure that all communities throughout the state obtain connectivity at an equal pace.

(e)  For sustainable community impact, local multi­sector partnerships should drive the utilization of enhanced government networks at the grassroots level.

(f)  Resources need to be applied principally toward connectivity. End­user equipment, training, content development, and maintenance are all cost categories typically sustained within the mission and budget of each public office and organization. However, universal connectivity is a public good only if all public entities are connected. The funding of this aspect must be provided through comprehensive means. Costs for this aspect are minimized through the approach taken in this act because the establishment of a state­wide information infrastructure induced by this approach reduces the distance any given entity needs to go to achieve connectivity. Costs are also minimized through the aggregation of traffic, at both the community and state levels, and the economies of scale thus produced. After the public good of universal connectivity is obtained and the cost efficiencies of a state­wide network are realized, it is reasonable to assume that public offices and institutions will thereafter assume network costs. It is estimated that ten thousand dollars over three years will be needed for each of the three thousand public offices throughout the state, for a total budget for this plan of thirty million dollars.

(5)  Given these findings and accepting these goals as necessary and desirable for the state and its citizens, the incremental steps taken in this act directly lead toward these goals without generating new state bureaucracy and with a minimum of change to established public policy and practice.

SECTION  2.  24­30­903, Colorado Revised Statutes, is amended BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW SUBSECTION to read:

24­30­903. Duties and responsibilities.  (6)  THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PERSONNEL SHALL CARRY OUT ALL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES SET FORTH IN THIS SECTION IN A MANNER THAT IS CONSISTENT WITH THE OBJECTIVE OF MAXIMIZING ACCESS TO DIGITAL NETWORKS OF THE STATE BY ALL PUBLIC OFFICES OF ALL LEVELS, BRANCHES, AND POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS OF THE STATE WITHIN EVERY COMMUNITY OF THE STATE. IN PARTICULAR, THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SHALL PROVIDE CONNECTIONS PROPOSED AND APPROVED BY THE COLORADO ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY INSTITUTE COMMISSION, CREATED IN ARTICLE 11 OF TITLE 23, C.R.S., THROUGH THE COMMUNITY­BASED ACCESS GRANT PROGRAM ESTABLISHED UNDER SECTION 23­11­104.5, C.R.S.

SECTION  3.  Article 11 of title 23, Colorado Revised Statutes, is amended BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW SECTION to read:

23­11­104.5.  Community­based access grant program ­ additional powers and duties of commission. (1) (a)  THE COMMISSION SHALL ESTABLISH A COMMUNITY­BASED ACCESS GRANT PROGRAM UNDER WHICH THE COMMISSION SHALL ALLOCATE CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION FUNDS APPROPRIATED TO THE COMMISSION FOR THIS PURPOSE TO COMMUNITIES SUBMITTING PROPOSALS TO CONNECT PUBLIC OFFICES WITHIN THE COMMUNITY TO THE DIGITAL NETWORK OPERATED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF PERSONNEL PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 30 OF TITLE 24, C.R.S. TO QUALIFY FOR CONSIDERATION UNDER THIS SECTION, PROPOSALS SHALL LIST ALL PUBLIC OFFICES IN THE COMMUNITY AND, AS TO EACH SUCH PUBLIC OFFICE, SHALL SPECIFY WHETHER OR NOT THE PUBLIC OFFICE IS TO BE CONNECTED UNDER THE PROPOSAL.

(b) (I)  FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, THE TERM "PUBLIC OFFICE" INCLUDES EVERY BUILDING, OFFICE, AND FACILITY THAT IS PHYSICALLY LOCATED WITHIN THE GEOGRAPHIC BOUNDARIES OF THE COMMUNITY AND IS OWNED OR OPERATED BY:

(A)  AN AGENCY OR POLITICAL SUBDIVISION OF THE STATE OR OF ANY LOCAL GOVERNMENT; OR

(B)  A NONPROFIT ENTITY ORGANIZED FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, LIBRARY, HEALTH CARE, SOCIAL SERVICE, HISTORICAL, EDUCATIONAL, OR CULTURAL PURPOSES.

(II)  "PUBLIC OFFICE" ALSO INCLUDES, BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO, STATE AGENCY OFFICES, PUBLIC SCHOOLS, LIBRARIES, AND COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT OFFICES.

(2)  PROPOSALS SUBMITTED FOR CONSIDERATION UNDER SUBSECTION (1) OF THIS SECTION SHALL BE EVALUATED ON A COMPETITIVE BASIS; EXCEPT THAT NO COMMUNITY MAY BE AWARDED MORE THAN ONE GRANT. THE OVERALL PROPOSAL PROCESS SHALL BE CONDUCTED WITH THE GOAL OF SEEING THAT EVERY COMMUNITY RECEIVES A GRANT UNDER THIS PROGRAM WHEN ITS PROPOSAL IS OF HIGH QUALITY AND COMPETITIVE WITH THOSE OF COMMUNITIES OF COMPARABLE SIZE AND CHARACTERISTICS. THE COMMISSION SHALL GIVE FAVORABLE CONSIDERATION TO THOSE COMMUNITIES PROPOSING TO AGGREGATE THE TRAFFIC OF, AND INCLUDE THE HIGHEST PARTICIPATION FROM, THE TOTAL NUMBER OF PUBLIC OFFICES WITHIN THE COMMUNITY.

(3)  GRANT MONEYS ALLOCATED UNDER THIS SECTION SHALL BE EXPENDED ONLY FOR CAPITAL COSTS OF EQUIPMENT AND SERVICES FOR PROVIDING DEDICATED NETWORK CONNECTIVITY FOR THE PUBLIC OFFICES CONCERNED. END USER EQUIPMENT, APPLICATIONS DEVELOPMENT, MAINTENANCE, TRAINING, AND OTHER SUCH COSTS WILL BE BORNE BY EACH INDIVIDUAL PUBLIC OFFICE OR ORGANIZATION. GRANT MONEYS SHALL BE DISBURSED ONLY TO A FISCAL AGENT THAT IS A POLITICAL SUBDIVISION OF THE STATE.

(4)  THE COMMISSION SHALL USE SUCH PORTION OF THE CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION APPROPRIATION AS IT DEEMS NECESSARY TO PROVIDE COMMUNITIES WITH SUFFICIENT TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, TRAINING, ENGINEERING, AND CONSULTING TO PREPARE PLANS, PROGRAM DOCUMENTS, LIFE­CYCLE COST STUDIES, AND OTHER STUDIES ASSOCIATED WITH AND NECESSARY FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF PROPOSALS UNDER THIS SECTION.

(5)  IN CONSIDERING PROPOSALS AND AWARDING GRANTS UNDER THIS SECTION, THE COMMISSION SHALL BE GUIDED BY THE FOLLOWING PRECEPTS:

(a)  A COMMUNITY EXISTS AS A WHOLE AND SEAMLESS FABRIC, NOT AS SEPARATE THREADS, AND A WELL­PLANNED APPROACH TO PUBLIC SECTOR CONNECTIVITY SHOULD RECOGNIZE THIS. THEREFORE, SUCCESSFUL PROPOSALS SHOULD ADDRESS ALL PUBLIC SECTORS IN TOTALITY AND NOT SEPARATELY AS INDIVIDUAL PUBLIC SECTORS, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, TRANSPORTATION, EDUCATION, LOCAL GOVERNMENT, AND HEALTH CARE SECTORS. FURTHER, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PRINCIPLE THAT THE MOST EFFECTIVE DECISIONS ARE MADE BY THAT LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT CLOSEST TO THE PEOPLE, THE COMMISSION SHOULD FAVOR PROPOSALS UNDER WHICH IMPLEMENTATION AT THE COMMUNITY LEVEL IS ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH A COMMUNITY­BASED INITIATIVE.

(b)  A PROGRAM TO ADDRESS PUBLIC SECTOR CONNECTIVITY SHOULD NOT ONLY ADDRESS EACH COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE, BUT SHOULD COMPREHENSIVELY ADDRESS ALL COMMUNITIES WITHIN THE STATE. THE GOAL SHOULD BE TO CONNECT PUBLIC OFFICES IN ALL COMMUNITIES DURING ROUGHLY THE SAME PERIOD OF TIME, AVOIDING A SITUATION IN WHICH SOME COMMUNITIES ARE INFORMATION "HAVES" AND OTHERS ARE INFORMATION "HAVE­NOTS".

(c)  FOR EACH COMMUNITY TO BENEFIT FROM ACCESS TO THE INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE, THERE SHOULD BE A COMMON NETWORK FOR COMMUNITIES TO CONNECT TO. THE BASIS FOR THIS COMMON NETWORK EXISTS TODAY IN THAT THE STATE HAS ESTABLISHED AND CONTINUES TO DEVELOP DIGITAL NETWORKS WITH NUMEROUS POINTS OF PRESENCE THROUGHOUT THE STATE CAPABLE OF CARRYING TRAFFIC OF NOT ONLY STATE AGENCIES, BUT ALL REMAINING PUBLIC FUNCTIONS OF THE STATE AND ITS POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS.

(d)  BY AGGREGATING DEMAND, THE STATE AND COMMUNITIES CAN INCREASE THEIR PURCHASING POWER AND THEIR ABILITY TO STIMULATE PRIVATE­SECTOR INVESTMENT IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE. SUCH INVESTMENT WILL NOT ONLY MEET THE NEEDS OF THE PUBLIC SECTOR, BUT ALSO PROVIDE RESIDUAL CAPACITY TO BENEFIT PRIVATE CITIZENS AND BUSINESSES. THUS, COMMUNITIES AND THE STATE CAN ACT TOGETHER AS "ANCHOR TENANTS" IN STIMULATING PRIVATE­ SECTOR ACTIVITY IN THIS AREA FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL.

SECTION  4.  24­72­302 (2) (k), Colorado Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

24­75­302.  Capital construction fund ­ capital assessment fees ­ calculation. (2)  As of July 1, 1988, and July 1 of each year thereafter through July 1, 2001, a sum as specified in this subsection (2) shall accrue to the capital construction fund. The state treasurer and the controller shall transfer such sum out of the general fund and into the capital construction fund as moneys become available in the general fund during the fiscal year beginning on said July 1. Transfers between funds pursuant to this subsection (2) shall not be deemed to be appropriations subject to the limitations of section 24­75­201.1. The amount which shall accrue pursuant to this subsection (2) shall be as follows:

(k)  On July 1, 1998, fifty million dollars plus three hundred sixteen thousand six hundred thirty­five dollars pursuant to H.B. 97­1186, enacted at the first regular session of the sixty­first general assembly, PLUS TEN MILLION DOLLARS PURSUANT TO S.B. 98­_____, ENACTED AT THE SECOND REGULAR SESSION OF THE SIXTY­FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY;

SECTION  5.  Appropriation. In addition to any other appropriation, there is hereby appropriated, out of any moneys in the capital construction fund, created in section 24­75­302, Colorado Revised Statutes, not otherwise appropriated, to the department of higher education, for allocation to the Colorado advanced technology institute commission, for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1998, the sum of ten million dollars ($10,000,000), or so much thereof as may be necessary, for the implementation of this act.

SECTION 6. Safety clause. The general assembly hereby finds, determines, and declares that this act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety.